


Catch Me in The Feild

by SoraKillua



Category: Naruto, Naruto (Anime) RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Drama & Romance, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Football | Soccer, Friendship/Love, Gay, M/M, Male Slash, Rating: M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:00:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 60,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27656516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoraKillua/pseuds/SoraKillua
Summary: Naruto was able to get into Konoha University Football Club, yet the ace player, Uchiha Sasuke was always giving him trouble. Still Naruto felt an unusual attraction grow inside of him, the more Sasuke pushed, the more Naruto's heart got attached. NaruSasuNaru, aside GaaraNeji.
Relationships: Gaara/Hyuuga Neji, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 10
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

Author’s Notes:  
So with this story, I tried my hand with a football setting lol. I love the sport and I’m a fan of football anime and manga. I didn’t want to butcher the sport in my stories, so I always steered away from writing it. However, I couldn’t resist the setting anymore. I hope you enjoy it. I really enjoyed writing it! :D Have fun, everyone~!  
Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto! :’(

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“GOAAAAAAAL!!!!”

The announcer called through the microphone. His strong voice sent waves of excitement throughout the huge stadium. Cheers soon followed as the fans of the winning team overjoyed, yelling at the top of their lungs, supporting their team. The vibrant colors of their banners brightened when they called the players’ names. Life seemed to come about in every corner of the stadium, tears of joy and tight hugs were exchanged between fans, it was an occasion celebrated between one big happy family called the supporters of the winning team. Half an hour later, both teams were bowing in respect to each other and conveying their joint delight at the game. This was football, it was all about respect and sportsmanship, even if you were to lose, it didn’t mean to show a bad attitude. The game taught manners before anything else. Both teams walked back to the respective lockers, the fans of the losing team were shouting loudly, telling the players that they did their best and showed them an interesting game. That was what mattered, not winning or losing… even if it was the final game, at the expense of the cup.

“Did you hear? Naruto is being scouted.” One of the players spoke as he changed into his regular clothes.

“Of course he’d be chosen. He’s the ace.” The other one replied, not thinking the news is important.

“Well, it’s true we lost, but he did his best out there.”

“You’re not sad about it?”

The player of the losing team closed his assigned locker and smirked, not feeling all that bothered. “It’s just a high school tournament, we’re not even getting paid, who cares about it?”

“It would have been nice if we brought home the cup through.” The one beside him commented, “We reached this far… it’s a little frustrating that we didn’t win.”

His friend who was chatting with him, ruffled his hair and consoled. “Then let’s play some pachinko on the way home, it’d relieve some of your frustration ~”

“Roger that!”

The two walked out after that. Not a minute later, a blond male with vivacious blue eyes walked inside. He emitted a tense and tremendous aura, the whole room was silent when he entered. His tired eyes and exhausted body showed signs of hidden anger, but his lips were sealed. His tan hands opened his locker and in less than five minutes, he changed and got out of the room. The members of the losing team all released an air they didn’t know they were holding. No one dared to speak then, it felt like the weight of the defeat was finally appearing with the blond, heavily smothering their bodies.

The blond walked out of the stadium, his eyes looked up at the stadium and he cursed. He worked so hard and tried his best, yet still he couldn’t bring home the cup. The azure eyed male knew where the problem lied and there was nothing he could do about it. His teammates weren’t collaborative; they didn’t care much about the game. He was the reason why they reached the finals, motivating them and trying to bring out their A-game. Halfway throughout the tournament, he was able to recruit four players who cared enough. However, since not everyone was one hundred percent onboard, of course they wouldn’t win.

The cold gush of night’s air hit his sweaty body and he zipped his jacket tighter. Holding onto his sports bag and marching to the bus, he sat on the last seat and put on his headphones. His teammates were soon boarding and they were returning to their homes, some had sad looks, some were taking selfies and some quietly watched the scenery from the windows. The manager of the team spoke a little trying to motivate them back, but since not everyone was feeling lousy, he let it go. The blond captain ignored everything and wanted to stay alone. The pain of the defeat was still hard swallow.

The blond was dropped at his apartment complex, he pulled his keys and entered the apartment. The sweet aroma of food hit his nostrils the minute he stepped in. As much as he hated to admit it, he was starving, running around all day throughout the huge field was really exhausting. Making his way to the kitchen, he felt his stomach grumble. When he entered, a man with chocolate-colored hair and matching eyes greeted him, he was tall and had a scar run across his face. The blond could immediately feel warmth and comfort wash over him.

“Hey, Naruto,” The brunet started as he came to put a plate on the table. “Sit. I made your favorites today.”

The blond quickly threw himself at the other’s arms and started bawling his eyes out. The burnet hugged his son and comforted him, giving words of encouragement to calm him down. Finally, Naruto was calm enough to sit down and eat. The hot dishes made him drool, he started eating silently. The brunet gave a small smile and ruffled Naruto’s locks when tears started falling down again.

“It’s okay, Naruto, stop crying. It’s not the last game of your life, you will win others.”

“But, Iruka, this was the FINAL game! Do you realize how close I was to the cup!? If only those jerks played better!” Naruto sobbed in between bites.  
“Well, it’s sad, Naruto, but you can’t force people to want to ‘win’. Remember, not everyone thinks of football as you do.”

“Then they should have quit!” He slammed his hand on the table, causing the dishes to jitter.

Iruka showed a displeased expression at Naruto, but didn’t scold him, choosing to comfort instead. “You wouldn’t have enough members to play then.”

Naruto glared at the dish as he took a big bite of the meat. “We would have found people with more motivation! It’s because they treated everything as a joke that we lost.”

Iruka stopped giving excuses for the other players and sighed. He allowed the blond to cry-eat his full and complain. He knew how hard his son had worked – the intense training schedules, the long hours spent in practice and all the time spent trying to improve his team – Naruto really did his best. It was bad others didn’t. the night finished when the tired blond decided that he had enough complaining, took a shower and hit his bed.

The next morning, he was woken up with loud knocks on his locked bedroom door. Naruto had decided to sleep in that day, trying to mop the sadness and frustration away, but apparently, Iruka had other plans. Groaning, sluggishly Naruto opened the door, glare in each eye and a low growl to go with it.

“Iruka! Let me sleep!” he complained.

“Naruto, quickly, go wash up! There’s someone here you must meet!” The excited tone of Iruka made the blond blink in puzzlement. Yet before he questioned further, Iruka pushed him into the bathroom. It took five minutes until he was able to speak to anyone.

Naruto walked to the living room and there on their red sofa sat a foreign guy, sipping tea. The man had silver hair and wore a fancy suit, his hair covered on of his eyes. The other one had a lazy hue emitting from it. Naruto blinked at the new character in his life and walked in. Iruka mentioned for him to sit beside him, opposite their guest.

The silver haired male looked Naruto in the eyes before he spoke. “Uzumaki Naruto-kun, how have you been? My name’s Hatake Kakashi, I’m the manager of Konoha University Football team. I’m sure you heard of us.”

Naruto’s eyes widened at the introduction. Of course he heard of Konoha Uni! It was one of the leading universities in football in the prefecture, it was famous for its strong offense and defense, they always won and brought cups home. Their team was very strong and considered one of the four powerhouse in the league. Naruto heard of many players from Konoha Uni being recruited to play in the national team. His breath hitched and he nodded enthusiastically.  
“I’ve been to your game yesterday; your performance was excellent.” The silver haired male put his cup down. “So I came here to invite you to play for my team.”

Naruto gulped down the nervousness and pointed to himself in disbelief. “…You want me to play for Konoha Uni?”

“Yes.”

The blond felt his heart jump to his throat. He really didn’t think he’d be scouted by Konoha University. Sure, a couple of offers were sprung his way the previous night, but they were all places he didn’t feel like attending. The man before him, extended an envelope to him, Naruto took it.

“This is a formal invitation. Getting to our university would be a bit hard, but I do hope you do your best. Your talent is very much suited for us.”

Having played his piece, Hatake Kakashi stood up and bowed to leave. Iruka walked him to the door of his small apartment and closed it behind him.

“IRUKA! KONOHA UNIVERSITY WANTS TO SCOUT ME!!” Naruto screamed on the top of his lungs.

Iruka grinned at him and ruffled Naruto’s already messy hair. “I told you, good things will come if you wait! Congratulations, Naruto!”

Naruto held the invitation and continued to jump like a monkey with a banana.

“Oh, Naruto, before I forget, Hatake-san said to give him that invitation when you enter Konoha University.”

With those words, his happiness came to an abrupt stop as he remembered something.

“Iruka, Konoha university was an A-league uni, right?”

The brunet sweat dropped, he put a hand on Naruto’s shoulder and encouraged. “You should start studying. Last semester you were about to fail chemistry and physics… really, go study.”

With those words, Naruto groaned aloud and walked to his room. If his grades didn’t allow him to enter, he’d commit suicide and play football in heaven. After all, there was no better team than Konoha Uni’s on Earth!

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Five months passed since Naruto was given that invitation. His grades were really bad, he had to stop everything and study twenty-four seven. But it paid off in the end, he was able to enter Konoha University with the bare minimum requirements. He applied for the Faculty of Economics, but what he really cared about was the football team. The blond’s first choice was something related to sports, but his grades weren’t on bar with it. Yet, when he learnt that he could change majors if his grades improved in the first year, he chose economics.

On his first day, he had some time before the welcoming ceremony for his faculty, so he headed to the football club. Running with full speed, he couldn’t wait to enroll and start practice. His eyes glazed with brightness and stars played in them when he saw the field. He looked at his watch, it read nine in the morning, he saw a couple of players practicing. A match was on, Naruto felt his feet itch to go down and join, he missed running under the sun. After all, it’s been five months since his last match. However, he couldn’t just intrude –

Suddenly, a ball rolled to his feet. The blond blinked at the white and black ball. He looked up when a voice called.

“Sorry, can you please kick it here?” A guy with eyes as pure as waterlilies called out to him.

Naruto was mesmerized by his beauty, for a passing second, he thought he was talking to a girl – with the other having long, dark-brown hair tied into a ponytail. His brain quickly worked and he took hold of the ball. He was about to kick it to them but an idea formed in his head and he stopped his movement.

“No.” Loudly and firmly, he declined.

The brunet with lilac orbs frowned at the unexpected reply. “No? why not?”

Naruto held the ball tightly and demanded. “I will give it if you allow me to play with you.”

“You want to join in? but we already have enough members.”

“That’s my condition.” He insisted.

A different player with redhead put his hand on the other’s shoulder and glared at Naruto. “Leave him, Neji, we can find another ball.”

The one known as Neji shook his head. “No, we will have him play. Kiba, switch with him.”

From the far back, another guy with brown hair and slanted eyes protested. “What?! Why do I have to!? Let’s just get another ball like Gaara suggested –”

The minute Neji glared at him, Kiba quieted down and complied like a beaten down dog. “… Fine.”

Kiba took off his shirt and threw it to Naruto, stepping out the field. The blond felt his nerves flare from excitement as he stepped in. he sent a small apology the other’s way and handed the ball to the one called Neji. Neji on the other hand, asked him in a puzzle.

“Why do you want to play with us?”

“I missed football.” Naruto’s answer was as simple as breathing.

Those lilac orbs were filled with delight in less than a second. Neji pointed to him and instructed. “Well then, Kiba’s a defensive midfielder, please play accordingly.”

The blond felt like asking to be a forward, an attacking midfielder or a striker was too much since he was an intruder, however, he was shameless when it came to football.

“Can I switch to a striker?”

“You have some nerves.” The redhead who objected earlier spoke. Naruto just noticed that he had no brows visible, and a tattoo of the word ‘love’ was on his forehead. He raised a brow at the brow-less male.

“Now, now, Gaara, I like a man with ambition.” Neji eased. “However, intruder-san, I must decline. We have a very capable striker.”

“Then a forward.” Naruto asked again.

“You!”

Neji put a hand on Gaara’s chest when he was about to charge on the other. “Can’t happen again, I am a very capable forward.”

Naruto was about to ask to be an attacking midfielder when a different voice entered the conversation.

“You, the only position you will be given is that of Kiba, no one here is willing to give up their place. If you can’t, then please give Kiba his place back so we can continue.”

The voice was of a player who had sunglasses on. Naruto frowned at him, how could sunglasses be allowed in football? However, the other was right. He was being too shameless, maybe he should just keep quiet and play. After all, this wasn’t his puny old team, this was Konoha University’s giants.  
“Fine, I apologize for my requests. Allow me to play in this position.”

Neji smiled at him and clapped his hands. “Now, since everything’s settled. Let’s play!”

With that they continued their game. In a second, Naruto was reminded of the huge difference between him and them. He was indeed in a position that wasn’t appealing to him, but in no time was it hammered into his head how hard it was to maintain it. The level everyone was playing at was beyond his belief. He was left gasping for ear in less than five minutes. Attacking, what a laugh! He couldn’t even defend right; it took all his talent not to allow the ball to get past him.

Fifteen minutes later, Neji called for a break. He walked over to Naruto and kneeled beside him since the blond was on the ground catching his breath.

“Intruder-san, you brazenly asked to play as a striker, did you think we were weak? You insulted the position that was given to you, are you sure you like football?”

The words were spoken in a soft, kind tone, but they hurt like sharpened knives. Naruto felt ashamed of himself, being the ace of his team for so long made him overconfident. He forgot that there were players far better than him. Right now, under the blazing sun, he was informed of his real limits. Naruto pulled himself up and walked out the field.

As he walked, another person was coming on the field, Naruto didn’t pay attention to him because his eyes were cast downwards and he was beating himself from the inside. However, a small whisper got him out his inner turmoil.

“Worthless play.”

His eyes widened when he heard that word. Turning quickly, his eyes came to rest on the back of player holding number ten. Naruto could only see black hair, spiked in the end, and a confident walk. He wanted to continue to look and see what that player meant, but his phone’s alarm went off. He needed to get back to the conference room, the orientation was about to start.

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Naruto looked at the papers he was given and sighed. After their orientation, he was given instructions to collect some things needed for the faculty. He was still unfamiliar with the teaching methods or ways of the university, but according to one of the papers, he needed to head to hall number twenty-seven and get some schedule for something. He sighed for the umpteenth time that day, all he wanted was to go back to the football club, yet when he remembered the events of that morning, he slumped gloomily.

“You… are you alright?” A sweet voice called out to him.

Naruto was about to ask whoever intruded on his agony time to leave him be, but when he looked up and was met with the same pure looking lilac eyes of long haired player, he shrieked away. The papers in his hands fell everywhere.

Startled by his behavior, the girl who called out to him moved away and apologized. “Sorry for startling you.”

Just then did Naruto realize his mistake. This wasn’t the same person from that morning. This was a girl – judging from her outfit and petite form. He quickly stood up and dusted himself.

“No, It’s my fault. I was rude.”

The girl smiled and helped him collect the fallen papers. Not a minute later, two other girls showed up, one had a vibrantly colored pink hair with jade eyes and fair complexion, the other had blond hair, her eyes were on a lighter blue shade than Naruto’s, she was extremely beautiful. Her blond hair was tied up in a high ponytail. They looked like acquaintances of the one who’d helped him.

“Hinata-chan,” The one with pink hair called first. “Can you not run off on us like that?!”

“We were searching for you for ages now!” The other backed up.

Hinata sweat dropped and bowed apologetically at her friends. “So sorry, Sakura-chan, Ino-chan, I wanted to say something but you two were arguing about lunch, and he seemed troubled. So I thought I’d help him quickly then find you guys.”

All eyes were on Naruto now, the blond felt pressured. “Umm… thank you, but I’m alright now, you can leave.”

The girl with lilac eyes frowned, not seeing how he’s alright. “Really? You’re not lost? You seemed like you were running in circles earlier.”

Truth be told, he had no idea where he was or where he should be, any help right now would be deeply appreciated. Nodding to her, he requested. “Then, if it’s not much trouble, can you help me get to economics hall number twenty-seven?”

Ino and Sakura looked at each other, Ino asked. “You’re in the economics faculty?”

“Yes, a freshman, today was orientation day.” Naruto replied to her.

“Well then, it’s your lucky day! Sakura here is your senpai~ She’s a second year in economics faculty.” The blonde introduced her friend.

Sakura smiled at him and extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Haruno Sakura, what’s your name?”

Naruto grinned back at her and took her hand. “Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet you, senpai.”

“No need for that, call me Sakura. So, Naruto-kun, we were about to head for lunch, would you like to have some with us or we should first drop you off?” Sakura asked.

The blond felt his stomach grumble, actually now that he thought about it, he didn’t have anything to eat since morning. Besides, getting to that hall didn’t feel like it was something urgent. Shaking his head, he accepted her invitation.

“No, let’s have lunch first, senpai.”

“Great!” Ino cheered melodiously. “Now, let’s eat~ let’s eat~ let’s eat some meat~”

“Mou~! Ino, your head if filled with nothing but meat!” Sakura groaned, disliking her friend’s tastes.

“That’s because there’s nothing more delicious than meat!”

Hinata and Naruto sweat dropped as the other two girls continued bickering about what best food to eat. The blond walked with the three nice girls and decided to put the football topic to the back of his head for now.

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Naruto took a deep breath, gulped then knocked on the door. He knocked three times. When the permission to enter was given, he made his presence known and walked inside the football club manager’s office. Inside sat the person who had scouted him for his dream team.

“Hello, you might not remember me but I am –”

“Uzumaki Naruto-kun.” The silver haired manager interrupted, “I never forget a distinguished player.”

Naruto grinned at him and sat on one of the chairs provided. He pulled the invitation out of his backbag. “Here, you told me to give it back to you once I enroll.”

“Yes, congratulations on passing our entrance exam. Which faculty are you in?”

“Economics.”

“Aha, you don’t strike me as the type for office work.”

The blond shook his head. “I am not. It was the only choice attainable.”

A chuckle left the manager’s lips. “Well, it’s all means to an end. Then Naruto-kun, let’s give you a tour to the club. Today is Tuesday so you won’t be able to meet our first lineup, but the second lineup is training today.”

The blond knotted his brows at his words. “Excuse me, what do you mean first and second?”

“Well,” Kakashi started explaining. “the system in here is a little different from normal clubs. We have three groups. A, B and C. Each group has three subdivisions, like A-1, A-2 and A-3. Of course, the top is A-1. We use different teams in different matches according to the strength of the other team. If it’s a weak team, we use members from group C. If it’s an intermediate team, we use group B. However, we use group A for strong opponents. The first and second lineups are within the division of each subgroup. For example, A-1 has first and second lineups and so are the rest. Over all, we have eighteen teams.”

The blond’s eyes widened, he didn’t realize how vast and big the clubs were. He just knew how amazing the university football team was, but he had no idea it was this huge.

“Then, you must have a lot of players.”

Kakashi smiled with a nod. “We have enough. However, not all of them play here. This is the main field; it’s reserved for group-A members only. Group-B and Group-C have different buildings. Of course, it’s within campus.”

“Then… all group A plays here? A-1, A-2, and A-3? With their respective lineups?”

“Yes.”

Something inside Naruto’s head twirled and he questioned. “Then, manager, which group will I be in?”

The silver haired male stood up and walked towards the door. “We need to test you to know. Now, please, come with me.”

Naruto didn’t need to be told twice. They left the big office and the blond was taken through corridors until finally, he was within a white room. He was a little bit scared but the silver haired male assured him that everything is well. Naruto thought his ‘test’ would mean he’d be assessed in an actual match and for his strength to be determined, but that wasn’t it. He was placed on machines – a treadmill, a bicycle and some foreign gears that he has never seen before – and strings were latched onto his body. At one point, the blond felt his head hurt.

The blue eyed male spent the whole day cooped inside that room with only a microphone telling him to do certain acts. In the middle of everything, Hatake-san had disappeared. Finally, the voice told him to take a rest and get dressed. Naruto obliged. When he was leaving the white room, a door to his right was opened and a woman in a lab-coat exited. The first thing he noticed was her big breasts, then the slim body and the two pigtails that were extending down her cleavage. He blushed and turned away from her caramel like eyes.

“Uzumaki-kun,”

His ears sharpened at the voice, it was the voice that was giving him instructions for a while. “…You!”

“My name’s Senju Tsunade, I’m the head of medical unit in here. I was the one responsible for assessing your abilities.”

Naruto quickly straightened himself up and all the insults that he wanted to voice were chocked. If this woman was the one to determine his fate, then he couldn’t be rude to her. He mustered all the respect in his life and offered it to her. Bowing first, he sheepishly rubbed his head.

“Nice to meet you, Sensei. So how were my results?”

She fixed the glasses on her nose and said. “I have sent my report to Kakashi. He’d be the one to dedicate where you should be best placed. Good evening.”  
With that, she walked away. Naruto sighed. He really didn’t have any say in this, but from what he knew, Kakashi was fascinated with his skills, so he’d probably be placed in group A or B. However, the team he played with the previous time had some crazy skills, were they from group A? His manager had said that this was where group A practices, so it meant they were players from it. The blond felt his blood burns, how much he wished to be in group A! He really needed a rematch! He wanted to prove himself again to them. To be booed off like that felt bad. They still haven’t seen his full potential!

With that mindset, Naruto walked out the door heading to his apartment complex. For after all, it was a long day.

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“You’d be placed in Group-C.”

Naruto was about to fall from his chair when he received the news. Kakashi nodded unfazed.

“You’re not in shape for group A nor B. Your best place is C, for now.”

“But! But! That’s the lousy one! I want to be in group A! I want to play strong teams!” Naruto protested, disliking the place he was given.

“I’m sorry, but your results don’t permit –”

“Manager, you can’t honestly measure a person’s worth with machines! Allow me to play in the field! I will show you what I’ve got!”

Kakashi sighed and shook his head. “My decision wasn’t just based on Tsunade’s calculations; I did see you play. A week ago you played with group-A members. You couldn’t even last good fifteen minutes, Naruto. How about a whole game? We take the finest of the fine. Right now, you’re not that. You need to go and polish your skills some more. Besides, you’re in Group C-1, first lineup, it’s not that bad. You might learn something new.”

The blond felt embarrassed at his overestimation of his abilities. However, he didn’t comply and asked again. “Manager, I still think you’re making the wrong decision here.”

“I don’t think I am.”

“Then, if you’re so confident, how about a bet?” Naruto challenged, eyes filled with fire.

Kakashi raised a bow, it’s been a while since someone disobeyed him. “What do you have in mind?”

“If I was able to get group C-1, first lineup to win against group A-3, second lineup, you have to get me in group A-1, first lineup!”

“Hmm… win against group A-2, second lineup and I’ll get you into Group A-2, second lineup.”

The blond frowned. “That’s not what I want.”

“That’s what I have. Take it or leave it.” Kakashi insisted with a calm tone.

Naruto thought about it hard for a while then nodded, extending a hand. “Fine! You have yourself a bet!”

Hatake Kakashi grasped his hand. A smirk forming on his lips, it’s been a while since he felt such trills. Really, scouting Uzumaki Naruto was indeed a right decision.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The blond honestly thought that since he was able to pull his team of weaklings – back in high school – to the finals, then winning against this group A-2, second lineup would be a piece of cake. However, when he met his teammates, he knew it won’t be an easy job. It wasn’t because their level was bad, no mind you, their level was top notch! If Naruto didn’t know better, he’d think they were group-A not C.

Which led to his current ordeal, if this was how group C-1, first lineup is, then how about Group A-2, second lineup? How strong would it be? His deadline for the match was a month away. In a month, could he be able to fight against Group A? Naruto sighed as his brain overheated. He needed to think hard and fast about this. This was his golden chance to work his way to the group he wanted to play in.

That’s why he befriended his current teammates, honestly, they were all good guys. When he told them about the upcoming practice match, they didn’t shriek away nor say he was arrogant about placing a bet and forcing their hands. No, they cheered and were full of enthusiasm. Some claimed that they were bored of always fighting against weak teams, they wanted a real match with real strong opponents for once, so they all took the practice game seriously. The blond was happy to get such collaboration from them.

To beat a strong opponent, one needs to know its strength and weaknesses. A fly can kill a lion simply by entering its ear. That’s why Naruto made sure to observe the players of group A-2, second lineup carefully. He made a note about the type of maneuvers they employed, their way of playing and the formations they used. He also worked hard to determine the loopholes. It was exhausting and even though he was helped by his teammates, the blond felt that winning would be very hard.

Group A-2, second lineup used defense as means to win. They were known as the Wall of Iron. Naruto cringed when he learnt the name. He needed to break that wall to win, something that was hard to do with the current power provided. Amidst trying out different methods, the blond felt he hit a dead-end. Sighing, he closed off his laptop and walked out his room. He found Iruka watching some comedy show and plopped besides him.

“Iruka, I’m stuck.” He complained with a pout. “My mind’s empty. I don’t think we can win.”

Iruka put the cup of hot chocolate off his hands. “Are you giving up?”

Naruto puffed his cheeks. “You know I don’t give up!”

“Then, stop complaining. There’s no such thing as impossible, Naruto. The players you will face are humans, they have weakness, you just need to think of how to use their weaknesses against them without them realizing you are.”

The blond knotted his brows. “What do you mean? What does it matter if they realized it?”

“Let’s say you have torn shorts that you love wearing, you have no idea there’s a tear in the shorts. Then one day I point it out, what would you do?”

“I’ll fix it.”

Iruka nodded to him. “That’s why. If they realized you’re using their weaknesses against them, they will fix them before you get a chance to exploit them. A great wall can crumble in seconds if you remove the right stone. Think of their weakest link and concentrate your attacks there.”

Naruto put a hand under his chin and started thinking. This Wall of Iron formation worked because they were all working as unit. They secured the ball behind a wall, then moved as an entity while passing the ball between them inside the wall. It was risky, because they were leaving their goal without protection. However, they had a seventy-eight success rate with that formation. So… what they needed to do is use the weakness, what was the obvious weakness? The goal without protection.

How would they use that?

“For today, how about you get some sleep. It’s already past twelve. You have school tomorrow.”

The blond nodded and walked to his room. “Thanks, Iruka. I think I’m close to something.”

“Anytime, Naruto.”

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Naruto ran to the right side of the field, kicking the ball to the player who was unmarked. He prayed that his plan succeeds, right now, they were able to block five attempts at scoring. The defense was doing their job right. At times, he had some doubts if his players would be able to hold their own against the distinguished group-A2, however, within thirteen minutes of the first half, his worries evaporated. Nonetheless, they lost two goals. The score was now 2-0. The first half had passed and they were down to the second one. Naruto wished they hadn’t lost those two goals, yet he didn’t give it any mind. He was still determined on causing a huge wave and turning the tables. His plan was about to start, forty-five minutes to determine if he’d level up or stay in his place.

The highlight of his plan were the last fifteen minutes, he would score three goals and win the game. How? It all relied on stamina. The blond grinned upon envisioning his victory.

Naruto noticed another big hole in the Wall of Iron formation. All the players would go for the attack –leaving only three to defend the goal – meaning they would be exhausted running back and forth through the 120 meters’ field. Of course, it’s a universal knowledge that the players chosen to attack and the midfielders held more stamina than the defenders. Yet, group A-2 was making a strategy relying on the defense partaking in the attack. Naruto wasn’t sure if they were too conceited or simply never paid attention to this little hole in their formation, whatever the reason, it weakened their defense area. What Naruto wanted to do was secure the ball, and by no means possible allow the other team to steal it, get it to the weakened area of the defense and wait until all members of the other team were on his team’s side of the field.

As the blond watched his teammates follow his strategy to a tee, he raised his voice when all pieces were in place and called. “NOW!”

“The ball was stolen!” Kiba whistled from the sidelines, excitement visible in his voice. “Wait! There’s no one to defend over there!”

Kiba, Neji and Gaara were sitting on the benches overseeing the practice game, the events of the match were announced clearly for them the previous night. They had an interest to know who was daring enough to bet with their manager. When they saw the blond, it somehow made sense to them. The three couldn’t forget the audacity of the blond intruder, whom they now identified as Uzumaki Naruto. Indeed, he had skills, but almost every player in Konoha University football club did. There was nothing special about that. Yet, the little freshman was acting all high and mighty that Neji decided he needed to be taught a lesson. When he recalled the look of devastation on Uzumaki Naruto’s face that morning, the long haired brunet chuckled inwardly.

On the field, Naruto was able to receive the long pass and with nerves of steel, he headed to the goal. It wasn’t hard for him to pass the weak defense. He could hear the captain of the opposite team call the players to return, he smirked, it was too late for that. The blond raised his left leg and kicked the ball with all his emotions. Not a second later, the referee called a goal in their favor. With their first goal scored, his teammates cheered the success. Naruto grinned and accepted the cheers, however, it was still too early for them to rejoice. He eyed the time and urged them to move fast, two more goals to go.

“He’s not bad.” Gaara spoke after much silence. “However, it would be hard to exploit the weak defense again. Look, they are already changing their formation.”

True to his words group A-2, second lineup changed into a different formation. The blond smirked when he saw it, this was what he’d hoped for. He was able to get them to discard the Wall of Iron formation. Now, he just needed one thing. The blond called over one of the players known for his speed and quick-feet. This player lacked stamina unfortunately so Naruto wanted to save him for the last goal, however, they needed him now – he was their ‘winning card’. The blue eyed male told the player to move to the position of a striker while their team defended.

The game resumed and Naruto’s team was on defense mode. The captain of his team was able to snatch the ball, sending it around, Naruto’s second plan was to distract the members of the opposite team. He’d direct all attention to him, right now, the opposite team was probably thinking he was the most dangerous member. This would give time to his ‘winning card’ to get close enough to score. His plan worked perfectly, the players of group A-2 were all thinking he’d be the one to score. They kept a tight hold on him, actually it was even hard to pass the ball to anyone, but Naruto was tenacious enough. He was able to maneuver his way and send the ball flying to his ‘winning card’.

The security around the goal was very tight, they were caught by surprise when they saw a different player aim to score. Their reactions weren’t as fast as his feet though, the player was able to evade them without getting hindered, making Naruto proud he chose him. A few seconds later, a goal was called in. Naruto fisted his hands in victory. There was five minutes left to the end of the game, he was sure the other team would most likely attack vigorously to get the upper hand. After all, two goals in their net from a lower-ranking team were humiliating.

As the referee whistled, group A-2, second lineup attacked like a flood. Naruto’s team wasn’t able to hold them in place, in fact, it felt like their full potential was released right at that moment. The blond was getting desperate simply getting the ball away from them, however, when dread was entering his system, the sound of the captain of his team calling his name woke him up. This wasn’t his old high school team, he wasn’t fighting alone, true he had alternative motives, but everyone here was doing their best. They wanted to win against a worthy opponent. He raised his face and saw the desperation on the faces of the other team. They were also doing their hardest wanting to win, it wasn’t because the goals in their net made their pride shatter, no, his mindset was misguided. Those players held pride in their way of playing, they didn’t want to see that ruined.

Naruto felt a sudden surge of power run through his core. He didn’t know what it was, but his stamina returned in a flash and he ran with full force to the other goal. Grinning like a content fox, he felt happy. This excitement, thrill and exhilaration was only in football! The zest he felt as he broke through the tackles and got to the center made his heart fly. His blue orbs shined brightly as he was met with the captain of the other team.

“GOOO, NARUTO, SCORE!!”

He heard his teammates yell from behind him, Naruto’s heart beat faster and he knew, he needed to score right then. The captain of the other team was a man with a huge built. Getting around him wasn’t easy, the blond used a technique he practiced alone. In fact, he never planned to use it in this game – because it wasn’t perfect yet – but desperate times called for desperate measures. Twirling the ball behind his back, he used the millisecond the captain’s attention was on it and ran past him. The ball twirled in the air and shot forward, Naruto was laying in wait for it. All eyes were shocked at the marvelous scene. Naruto quickly and without hesitation kicked the ball. The guard rushed desperately trying to protect his goal, yet it was too late, Naruto’s kick was like a flaming ball, it penetrated without stopping.

Not a second later, the referee whistled calling the game to an end. Needless to say, everyone was in shock. Who would have guessed that group C would be able to win against the distinguished group A? the practice game was called to an end with that, the winning team hugged and cried in joy. The small field was filled with the excited and shocked cheers of group C members. Group A’s team got over their shock quickly and congratulated their rivals. After all, winning or losing never meant to discard good sports spirit.

Naruto was approached by the captain of the losing team, the man had a loud voice matching his build. “Uzumaki-kun, I must say, I enjoyed our practice match today very much. You showed me something new.”

The blond took hold of the hand extended to him and grinned. “I’m glad you feel that way. Playing against you was an honor.”

They bowed to each other and the captain was on his way, he called his players and they disappeared behind the benches. Naruto watched his teammates celebrate and dance, they were getting ready to leave to start a party. He was about to leave with them when someone called out to him. His azure orbs turned to see three young men waving at him.

“Uzumaki Naruto-kun, our rude intruder. You played very well today.” Neji spoke with a playful tone, standing in front of the blond.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, he felt he should apologize at his last behavior but stopped himself when he realized he was complemented. “…T-Thank you!”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Man, how did you get the ball to rotate in mid-air like that!?” Kiba was beside him in seconds, canines showing due to his excitement.

Naruto sweat-dropped at the close proximity and backed off a few steps. “Err… it’s a technique I have been developing… it’s not complete yet though...”  
“Awesome! It was like that and it’s not even complete!” The dog-lover’s eyes sparkled and he barked. “You have to teach me!”

Just when the blond was about to raise complains, Neji held the other by the ear and drew him away. With a tiny glare, he scolded.

“Kiba! What did I say about personal space?”

Like a dejected dog, the brown haired male spoke. “Not to invade it.”

“Good boy, now stop troubling people with your noisiness.”

“Neji, we need to go.” Beside the lilac eyed male stood the redhead who was about to chew Naruto’s ears back then. His voice was very calm and tranquil right now, the blond had to wonder if he really was the same person.

“Ah, we do, don’t we?” He turned to Naruto and smiled. “Well them Uzumaki-kun, I hope we meet soon.”

Just before the three walked out of his viewfinder, Naruto called. “Wait! It’s not fair, you know who I am and I don’t know you.”

Neji smiled at him, he stopped his movement and introduced. “True. I’m Hyuuga Neji, this loud one over here is Inuzuka Kiba and this quiet one is Sabaku Gaara. Bye now, Uzumaki-kun.”

The blond nodded at them. Having introduced themselves, the three left afterwards, leaving the blond to his musings. He quickly got out of the field and followed after his teammates, in the end, today they were celebrating!

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Alright, Naruto-kun, you have secured yourself a spot in group A-2, second lineup –”

“I want to be on the same team as Hyuuga Neji, Sabaku Gaara and Inuzuka Kiba, sir!” Naruto excitedly interrupted Kakashi.

Raising a think silver brow, the adult of the two put a hand under his chin. “You want to be in Group A-1, first lineup?”

“So, they really were the best!” The blond had stars in his eyes. “I do! Please, allow me to be in that group!”

“Listen here, Naruto, I admit I was acting on emotions when I accepted your bet, there won’t be a second time. Our first lineup is distinguished; you can’t keep up. That’s why I have to refuse. You will stick to your current team. Maybe if you improve –”

“Manager! That’s not good! I need to be on that team! What can I do so you’d say yes?”

Kakashi sighed, he could feel a headache forming, the idiot before him was obstinate. However, he wasn’t about to let him have his way simply because he was stubborn.

“Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do. Now, get out. I have more urgent business than you. Go great your captain and teammates. Shoo, shoo.”

The blond puffed his cheeks and walked out, he wasn’t happy about the team he was given but it was still better than group C. At least he was in the leading group. As Naruto was walking out of Kakashi’s office, he stumbled upon a person. Quickly apologizing, the cheerful tone of Hyuuga Neji met his ears.  
“Uzumaki-kun! We seem to be meeting a lot these days. What brings you here?”

Naruto grinned at him and answered. “I had a bet with manager. He moved me to group A-2, second lineup. But I wanted to be in your team.”

Neji blinked. “You want to be in the first lineup? Well, there’s nothing wrong with ambition. You have talent, Uzumaki-kun, but I’m afraid that alone won’t get you to our team.”

“Yeah,” Dejectedly, he commented. “Manager Kakashi agrees with you.”

A melodious chuckle was given to him. “Well then, there might be a way for you to get what you want.”

“I can’t place another bet, he already refused.”

“No, I’m not talking about that. You see, manager Kakashi loves reading this particular series. For a while now, he’s been searching for the missing volume nine. If you were able to obtain it, you can bargain it for a place in our team.”

Naruto’s face glowed and he put his hands on Neji’s shoulders. “Please, tell me, where can I find it?”

The long haired brunet sweat dropped, apparently not only Kiba had problems maintaining people’s personal spaces. “If I knew, I would have told you. However, unfortunately Ichi Ichi Paradise had been discontinued for a while now. I’m not even sure if the author is alive or not. However, I heard he made a few copies of volume nine. So, Uzumaki-kun, do your best finding it!”

The blond scowled but agreed to what he was being told. “Alright, I will do my best. Thank you very much for your assistance.”

Neji waved at him. “Don’t mention it, I also want you on our team. You have a spark that would fit perfectly with us.”

Since it’d been a while since someone told him he belonged to the top, Naruto felt tears of happiness trek down his face. Really, the one before him was an angel in disguise. He was about to threw himself on the other hugging the life out of him when a pale hand extended, holding him in place. Naruto blinked and was met with fierce jade orbs.

“Stay away from Neji.”

The words were clear and laced with venom. Naruto shuddered and moved away in seconds. Sabaku Gaara stood three inches close – than needed – to Neji. The blond blinked another time.

“Gaara,” Neji started, already rolling his eyes. “Stop being a protective hen. Uzumaki-kun wasn’t doing anything to me.”

“Hn.”

The atmosphere was getting awkward so Naruto tried to change the topic, suddenly something came to the forefront of his brain. “Umm… there’s something I wanted to know, which faculty are you in, Hyuuga-san?”

“Oh, I’m in the Faculty of Medicine, I’m a third year. Gaara here is in Architecture, he’s a second year. How about you? I haven’t seen you before so you must be a freshman.”

Naruto nodded to them. “Yes, I’m in the Faculty of Economics, first year.”

“Then, we are your senpais.” Neji smirked. “Show respect, Naruto-kun.”

Upon the mentioning of his first name the blond sweat dropped. However, before he was able to reply, someone called with a loud voice.  
“Someone, anyone, help!”

The three discarded their conversation and ran towards the voice, on the field of Group-A three players were fighting. Fists out and growling. Neji ran to break the fight with Gaara tailing him, Naruto stood at a distance and watched. Neji was yelling at the three and forcibly broke them apart. He started scolding them and in the middle of his lecture, one of the players scoffed and walked away.

“SASUKE! Stop right there!” Neji yelled at the top of his lungs. “Don’t you dare walk away from me!”

Naruto looked at the one called ‘Sasuke’, he was wearing the number 10 shirt. His profile was somehow familiar. Naruto’s eyes widened when he saw the chicken-butt hair and he remembered, soon a set of unfamiliar emotions twirled inside his stomach. This was the one who had called him ‘worthless’ that morning. Alongside his stomach, his heart stung. Naruto noticed the bruises and the effects of the fight starting to show vividly on this player’s pale complexion. He caught himself staring without meaning to and quickly changed his line of vision before getting caught.

“There’s no need for me to stay here, Neji. They were acting like idiots and I reformed them. End of the story.” The black haired male justified, tone very quiet.

The two other players were about to start another fight but Neji’s glare was enough to root them in place.

“You aren’t animals and this isn’t a zoo! If there’s something you have to say to them, use your words not your fists! Or come to me, I’m the captain, it’s my job to fix problems!”

“Hn.”

Everyone could see how disinterested the black eyed male was. Gaara saw Neji about to lose his temper and slowly walked to calm him down. Everyone – except Naruto – knew how awful Neji was once his temper was lost.

“Neji, let him go. We will solve this quietly.” With that soothing tone, Gaara was able to calm the raging brunet. After all, no one wanted another fight that day.

“Fine!”

Sasuke took that as a sign that he could leave and that he did. Naruto watched as Neji calmed down and questioned the other two about what had happened. Apparently, the two were playing against each other, they were trying a new technique and in the middle of that, their ball fell on Sasuke’s head. They apologized but it continued to happen two more times, in which Sasuke lost his cool and called them ‘losers who have zero control on the ball’. Of course, they didn’t take the insult lying down and insulted him back, this led to that, and a fight broke out.

Neji sighed once the events have been recited to him. “You both know he has a bad mouth! Ignore him!”

One of the players growled. “Neji, no man can take insults easily! Sasuke-kun went overboard!”

“Lee, please, next time, ignore him. This only brings troubles.”

Lee frowned, Naruto was able to get a good look at him and he stifled a laugh. His face was as round as the moon, he had round eyes and his hair resembled a bowl. The distinguished form of his eyebrows and their thickness left a mark on his memory.

“Why not tell him to fix his attitude then, Neji?” The one beside Lee spoke, it was the guy who was wearing sunglasses back then. Naruto could see the dent in them, he was amazed that even during a fight this one refused to take them off, what if he was injured?

“Shino, I have told him millions of times before, he’s stubborn and won’t change. We have to accept him like that.”

“Like a jerk?”

“Like a jerk.” He affirmed.

“By the way, I wanted to ask this for a while, but who is he?” Lee directed an accusing finger Naruto’s way, the blond smiled sheepishly.

Neji sighed, having forgotten the presence of Naruto and replied. “Naruto-kun, I forgot you were there, please excuse our mess. I hope this doesn’t make you change your mind about joining us.”

The blond shook his head. “I don’t mind fights. I throw some good punches myself.”

At the proud tone, Neji sweat-dropped. “…That’s not what I meant.”

“Neji, who’s he? Who’s he? Who’s he~?” Lee chanted annoying the long haired brunet.

“His name is Uzumaki Naruto, currently he’s a new member in A-2’s second lineup, but he wants to play in our team.”

Lee’s eyes blazed with energy. “You’re Naruto-kun?! Kiba told me about you! You did an awesome youthful move at that practice game I hear. Man, I wish I attended!”

The blond grinned like a fox at the complement. This Lee guy wasn’t such a bad person. “Don’t worry, when I get into your team, I will show you how I did it!”

“Great! I’ll hold you to that promise.”

Neji rubbed his head, feeling a headache forming. The guys he was in charge of were all a bunch of buffoons, knew zero common sense and actually, sometimes he felt like the zoo keeper not the captain of a distinguished football team. He sighed for the umpteenth time that day and clapped his hands.  
“Alright, enough chit-chats. Lee and Shino go to the nurse’s office and treat those wounds. Naruto-kun, I don’t mean to sound rude, but shouldn’t you go report to your new team captain? It’s getting late already.”

Upon those words, the blond checked his watch and really, it was about to become noon, he had a lecture at one. There was no time to idle around. Saying his goodbyes, he flew to the A-2’s second lineup field, he hoped he’d still find the captain there.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hmm, I’m not too sure, but I will ask around.” Iruka answered as he put the dishes on the table.

Naruto nodded with a smile. “That’s all I want.”

“Tomorrow morning I’ll call my editor; he used to work in the literature department. Even if he doesn’t know it, he might know someone who does.”

“It’s my only chance, Iruka. Manager Kakashi is hard headed. If only he’d allow me to be on A-1 first lineup~” Naruto groaned taking a spoonful of rice.  
“Don’t forget, Naruto, it’s not fair to everyone else if you were handed up the first place without working for it.”

“But I heard some of the people he scouted were enrolled there immediately.”

“Their tests probably qualified them, yours didn’t.” The brunet argued logically.

Scowling, his son stuffed his mouth full. “I hate tests!”

Iruka smiled warmly as they continued eating dinner. He worked as a mangaka for the local magazine. Actually, he wasn’t all that famous and his work had never sold out, but he was satisfied with where he was. Iruka was able to provide well for himself and Naruto. Their small apartment was just enough for them. He raised Naruto to know that money wasn’t everything, there were more important things in life. Love, respect, and perseverance. As he watched the young blond grow up to be a fine young man, Iruka knew he raised him well. Naruto was courageous, outspoken and kind. He defended the weak and refused to betray anyone. Maybe the only real downside was Naruto’s unnatural passion and love for football.

Iruka snickered to himself when he started reminiscing. The first day he bought Naruto a football was like watching a Christmas tree lit up. Naruto named his ball and even slept with it. It was his first friend. Before Iruka decided to pursue his dream of being a mangaka, he was a normal salaryman and worked a desk job from eight to five. Sometimes he’d have to leave for business trips and Naruto would be forced to stay alone. That was something that Iruka hated. There was no one out there that would look after Naruto.

Both Naruto’s parents died in a tragic car accident when Iruka was still in university. He was close friends with them. When Naruto was put for adoption, he did his best to get custody. There were no relatives alive who wanted him. Iruka wasn’t granted full custody until he was fully out of school and held a proper job. Naruto was ten at the time. Iruka would always visit him at the orphanage, he didn’t want Naruto to think he was abandoned. The little blond was as strong as he let on.

Iruka found himself ruffling Naruto’s golden hair, a habit that grew on him since the blond was young.

“Iruka, what’s wrong? You’re not eating.”

“Nothing, I was thinking about the past.”

Naruto rolled his eyes. “Well, eat. There’s nothing for you to think about. I still remember the days of poverty when you first started your career shift.”  
The brunet laughed. “Yeah, we barely had one meal a day.”

“It was AWFUL! I wore the same shoes until it tore! I remember one of my old teammates offered me his brand new ones in a game,” Naruto shuddered at the memory. “I felt so humiliated.”

“Sorry, Naruto, thank you for putting up with it.”

The blond grinned, eating like there was no tomorrow. “No, you don’t need to apologize, it was fun. Besides, you were happy to change to your dream. You know I will always support you~”

Iruka returned the grin. “Yes, you always support me, my lovely son.”

“Enough mushy stuff, now eat, your food has gotten cold!” Naruto scolded playfully.

The brunet nodded and held his chopsticks, slowly, he started eating. Thanking the heavens for giving him Naruto to raise.

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Thank you for reading this far. I hope you liked it. Review please and share your thoughts.


	2. Chapter 2

“Naruto-kun! I didn’t know you had class in this hall.” Haruno Sakura called from a far as she made her way to him.

Naruto’s face lit up when he saw her, He walked and met her half way. Smiling, the blond’s replied. “Senpai, yeah, today we are having…hmm… what was it again? Financial accounting or whatever… it’s something math related.”

His tone depleted at the end, Sakura chuckled. “Naruto-kun, you don’t seem to like economics very much, why did you enroll here?”

“Because my grades got me here.” He didn’t even lie to save face.

Sakura laughed outright this time. “Well, I appreciate your honesty. Economics isn’t that bad. It’s a world with different branches and not that hard to pass. You just need to find your passion ummm … I guess in your case, find the easiest branch in it and go there.”

“I don’t want to; I want to change to another major. Something sport’s related.”

“Oh, yes, you said you play football? Are you in our university’s team?”

The blond nodded enthusiastically, Sakura even thought his head would pop out of place. “It’s the reason why I enrolled here! Konoha Uni’s football team is legendary!”

“Is that so?” She smiled, adding the new information to her mind. “Well, then if you want to change majors, I think you need to pass first year first. Most majors have the same basic course, everything changes in the second year where you take courses specific to your line of study. Anyhow, I advise to stick to economics, you might like it.”

“Advice taken. Do you have a class right now?”

A faint blush showed on the girl’s cheek, she shook her head. “No, no, actually… err…”

Naruto blinked at her odd answer. “Sakura-senpai?”

“I’m going to the Faculty of Business Administration. Actually, why don’t you tag along?” Sakura offered with an embarrassed smile.

The blond wasn’t given time to react as he was dragged head first with her. Once they entered the building of the faculty, Naruto had to shriek away from the loud squeals and herd of girls, pushing him from right to left. He blinked when Sakura’s eyes turned into hearts and her grip on his hand tightened. Not knowing what was happening, he looked to where the girls were squealing. Over to the right, standing like prince charming was none other than the troublesome guy known as ‘Sasuke’.

The bruises on his face had disappeared, giving Naruto full view to handsome and cool features. His dark hair fell into the sides of his face, it demarcated the sharp structure to a tee. Naruto was jolted from his admiration when Sakura dragged him further into the crowd. He felt his stomach turn at the collection of perfumes and heavy makeup girls were wearing, the blond disliked crowds. He was getting dizzy and wondered if those girls were coming for the jerk.

He found himself raising a brow at the female gender. True the jerk had a nice face, but was this all that mattered? Girls based their attraction on looks? Naruto wrinkled his nose in disgust, how superficial was that? One of the girls pushed him away violently, and was about to start shouting at him to get the hell out when Sakura stood in her way and defended him. The blond wanted to tell her that it’s not a problem, but Sakura was angrily defending. Sighing, he moved to the sidelines when suddenly, a huge brawl broke between the girls. Naruto wasn’t sure if he was the fire that lit the candle or they just wanted to fight.

The blond felt a hand tug at his shirt then haul him away from the scene. He blinked as unexpectedly, he was forced to run once more. The sun blinded his vision and he wasn’t able to make up who was dragging him, but he was finally away from the strong collection of perfumes. Besides, the one dragging him had amazing stamina. It’d been a while since he was forced to run so fast. Finally, the feet before his stopped moving and he was let go of.

Catching his breath, Naruto was finally able to get a good look at his abductor. His azure orbs widened when he was met with cool onyx ones.

“Why were you following me?”

The simple sentence was a little hard for his brain to register. He looked puzzled at ‘Sasuke’, before tilting his head in confusion. “I beg your pardon?”  
As the black haired male snorted, those black orbs of his become fiercer. “You have been tailing me for a while now, first in the field and now you come to my faculty? What do you want? What’s your motive?”

A vein inside the blond’s head popped at this. This jerk, he was so conceited that he thought the world revolved around him!? How dare he!? Just because a bunch of stupid girls treated him like celebrity, he thought he was important!? Even going as far as to think Naruto was stalking him!?

The blond glared and breathed fire, before spatting viciously. “Now, listen here, asshole, no one has been tailing your stinky ass! Everything was a goddamn COINSIDANCE! I didn’t even know you went to business faculty! I was dragged there! Actually, if there’s someone doing something bad, it’s you! You abducted me here!”

The black haired male seemed to be taken aback by the other’s words. A look of puzzlement crossed his face then it turned back to the initial coolness. Coughing the awkwardness of the situation away, he turned his back to Naruto and spoke.

“Fine, then it’s an honest mistake.”

With that, ‘Sasuke’ was planning on walking away, but Naruto had other plans.

“Wait!” He called out. “Don’t think you will leave just like that!”

The black haired male turned with annoyed eyes, not seeing a reason why he was being stopped. “What do you want? I admitted I was mistaken.”  
“That’s not enough!”

“It is to me.” Onyx orbs glared.

“When you accuse someone of something bad, you should apologize.” Naruto returned his glare, standing his place. “That’s common sense.”

Scoffing, Sasuke ignored him and started walking away, not even dignifying Naruto with an answer. Naruto didn’t speak another word either but started walking beside him. If the other thought he was tailing him, then he’d tail him for real! At least then, he’d be accused of something he was actually doing. It was childish, he wasn’t acting his age, but the raven haired male was very irritating. He refused to apologize after doing something so small, what type of upbringing did he have?

Sasuke tried to act as if the blond didn’t exist but it got annoying. He sped up his steps, Naruto did the same. He jogged, Naruto followed. Finally, he broke into a run. Needless to say, Naruto ran beside him. Sasuke was so irritated that his legs moved like crazy. Naruto out of sheer will didn’t miss him. He didn’t want to lose to the jerk in running if possible. If this ‘Sasuke’ person thought of himself as a big deal, then he’d be the one to smack him back to Earth!  
Sasuke took a sharp turn to the right, Naruto didn’t lose him. They ran for good half an hour until finally, they couldn’t keep up the speed and its decreased. Coming to a stroll and then barely being able to walk straight. Naruto was really going all out.

“Enough, leave me alone, go away!” Sasuke blurted in between gasps.

“I won’t! apologize!” Naruto insisted stubbornly.

A vein inside Sasuke’s head throbbed and he growled. “I’m not apologizing! Stop following me or I’ll call the cops!”

Naruto smirked at the lousy threat. “And tell them what? ‘hello, come save me, I can’t save myself, I’m a little kid who doesn’t even know when to apologize’”

That flared the black haired male more and he pulled on Naruto’s collar. “Shut up, you worthless piece of shit! I won’t apologize because there is nothing to apologize for!”

“You called me a stalker!” Naruto spat out “That’s rude!”.

“I didn’t!”

“Well, you said something along those lines! It means the same thing!”

Sasuke frowned at the stupid logic. “Why do you care so much for this apology?”

“Because it’s good manners. When you do something wrong, you apologize!” The blond insisted on his strict mindset.

The raven haired male let go of him and sighed. Honest to God, it was his first time coming in contact with someone more stubborn than he was. Why would a college student care about manners? They weren’t grade school children who followed the rules. However, as he took a glance at those vibrant azure orbs, he felt his heart thump. Suddenly, he was irritated again. His emotions weren’t stable, what was going on here?

“Listen, I need to go back to class, and I’m sure you need to get back to your girlfriend –”

“Girlfriend?” Naruto blinked, scowling. “Who?”

“The pink haired girl who was with you. I saw you coming in together.” Sasuke found himself replying.

Naruto shook his head at his wrong assumptions. “Sakura-senpai? She’s not my girlfriend, she’s my friend. And seeing how she’s head over heels in love with you, I don’t think she’d appreciate you thinking she’s taken.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes at him and growled again. “Who cares about you or her. Listen! I am not apologizing period. Now, you can tail me all you want, but that won’t change anything.”

For the umpteenth time that day, Sasuke turned away from Naruto wanting to leave. This time though, Naruto extended his hand to stop him, but a stone tripped him, he grabbed the closest thing to him – which was Sasuke’s shirt and pulled him down. Unfortunately, what both of them didn’t realize was that they were standing on a trail beside the river. As both of them rolled down and splashed hard, falling into the weak streamed river, Naruto sheepishly looked at the other.

With a smile that conveyed his utmost emotions, he apologized. “…I’m sorry.”

The only reply he got was Sasuke standing up and storming away. This time, Naruto didn’t stop or try to follow him.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The blond covered his face from embarrassment, the girl on his right was laughing so hard tears were falling from her eyes. He sent a small glare to her.  
“Ino-senpai, I don’t think it’s that funny.” He protested, wishing she’s pick up on his dissatisfaction and stop laughing.

“Oh God, Naruto, it is!” She slammed the table unable to maintain her laughter.

The blond buffed his cheeks and looked to the other two girls sitting, Sakura was chuckling softly, while Hinata was stifling her laugh, her shoulders were going up and down. Not wanting to hurt his feelings most probably, but it was obvious she was amused. Naruto told them about the little accident he had with the jerk Sasuke. It was after Sakura had questioned where he’d vanished to that other day. Sighing, he wished he could delete everything from his memory.

“Well, Naruto-kun, look at the bright side,” Hinata spoke with a cheerful tone, having had enough laughter. “You clarified yourself. He doesn’t think you’re stalking him anymore.”

“Senpai… that’s hardly a silver lining. He still hasn’t apologized. His personality sucks.”

“That’s part of his charm, Naruto.” Sakura spoke, already entering fangirl more. “You might not know this, but we love bad boys. The thought of changing him to the better and fixing his bad behavior is to die for!”

“Or when he’s rude to the whole world and gentle with only you~” Ino added, copying Sakura and changing to fangirl mode.

The two squealed at their fantasies. Naruto simply looked with disgust at them. “Well, I take someone with good manners over a jerk like him any day.”

“Well, you’re not a girl, now are you?” Ino smirked.

“Anyway, everyone, let’s forget about Sasuke-kun for now.” Hinata cut in to smooth the atmosphere. “how about we order now? I’m getting hungry.”

“I want deluxe ramen.” Naruto answered her.

Sakura rolled her eyes at him. “You always get ramen, change for a day.”

“I love ramen, why change?”

They ended up ordering their lunch, the main cafeteria of Konoha-Uni was famous all around for it’s delicious delicacies. It wasn’t like normal university cafeterias, no, it had dishes that made first rate restaurants put to shame. Naruto still like Ichiraku ramen better though. He was a loyal person. About thirty minutes later, all their orders were placed in front of them. However, before any could dig in, a shadow hovered over them. The three girls looked up at the intruder to their feast. Sakura and Ino were in shock when they saw the person of their gossip stand behind Naruto.

The blond was oblivious to all that and munched happily on his ramen. Yet when a pale hand stopped him, he looked up as well. Blinking, he nervously gulped his noodles down then asked.

“You… why are you here?”

“Come with me.” Sasuke’s words were as curt as ever.

“No, I am eating.” Naruto stubbornly objected, not liking the way he was being ordered.

“I don’t want to do this, as well, but you’re being called.”

“By whom?”

The raven haired male felt annoyed. “Manager Kakashi. But tell you what, don’t come, I’ll just tell him that your lunch is more important than football.”

Naruto got up so fast, Sakura thought he would break a bone. “I’m up, I’m up. Let’s go!”

The three girls watched in awe as their friend was snatched in front of their eyes.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kakashi fixed his necktie and walked towards Naruto, the blond was sitting comfortably on one of the chairs in his office. With a cunning smile, the silver haired manager asked. “Naruto-kun, I heard you have volume nine of Ichi Ichi Paradise.”

Naruto immediately smirked. Apparently the news traveled to his manager’s ears fast. It hadn’t been two days since Iruka’s editor was able to secure them a copy. Seemingly, the author of the series, Jiraiya-san, was one of Iruka’s fans. Once he heard the brunet was looking for one of his books, he was more than happy to provide a copy. The brunet was startled to know he had such fans, who knew his comedic low-grade manga had such distinguished readers.  
This was his time; this was where he is to bargain for a spot in A-1. “Manager, it won’t be that easy.”

“Don’t tell me you want a trade?” Kakashi scowled, feeling that attaining that copy won’t be easy.

“Yes. I’m sure you know what I want.”

“Naruto-kun, I can’t do that. You should stop these underhanded methods and work hard to get what you want.” The silver haired male lectured.

“All’s well in love and war.”

“This is neither.”

“This is war. I’m fighting to get something I want. Besides, I’m not forcing you. If you want the book, put me in A-1, first lineup. If not, then I’m fine where I am.”

Kakashi felt his vein throb. “What would you do if I returned you to group C?”

The blond grinned. “You won’t do that, Manager, you have your pride to uphold. If you do something like that, people would say you didn’t hold your end of a bet you’d lost. That’s why your best offer is to take mine.”

“Naruto, even if I accepted this, you will have a hard time adapting. It will affect the morale of the team.”

“Then, there’s no need for my presence here.”

With those words as his bluff, Naruto was about to leave. However, the silver haired male stopped him. Turning with a foxy expression, the blond knew he’d won. Actually, what the other was saying might have been the truth, using underhanded methods wasn’t right, but Naruto didn’t know if he’d be able to advance in this life time to A-1, first lineup. He heard rumors about how you’d be stuck in the group you were given until you graduate. Few had the opportunity to advance. He didn’t want to take chances with something so important. That’s why he used those methods. Besides, getting to the team didn’t mean he’d slack off, no, he’d work hard to continue being there. He won’t give anyone any reason to question if he really belonged.

“I will take that volume. You can start with group A-1, first lineup tomorrow morning.” Kakashi cracked in less than a minute.

Naruto nodded to him with a huge grin. “I’ll get you the book first thing tomorrow then, sir!”

The blue eyed male skipped to the outside, happiness evident on his face. Kakashi sighed and hoped the volume was worth the price he paid for it.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto sat in the locker-room benches, he was now being introduced for the third time to a new team. Some remembered him from that morning, some remembered seeing him with group C and other’s complained on how he was able to change from group A-2, second lineup so fast. Of course, his weird way into getting to both teams from Group-C team won’t be mentioned, it wasn’t something he could declare to the world.

“Naruto-kun, if you’d introduce yourself,” Neji gestured for him with a smile.

The blond felt like he was a transfer student in a new school. He sheepishly stood up and spoke. “My name’s Uzumaki Naruto, I’m a freshman in Faculty of Economics. I love football, I have been playing since I was eight years old. I played as a striker and a forward. In my previous high school, my team reached the finals, but sadly we didn’t win the cup. I’m hoping this will change here. Please, take good care of me!”

He bowed deeply to his new teammates. Some clapped to his introduction, some snickered, and others were uninterested.

“Thank you, Naruto-kun, for now I want you to play so we can determine the position best suited for you.”

Naruto nodded. He was introduced to the rest of the team, the coaches, the trainers and the players. There were a lot of people, but he was able to remember a few. The goalkeeper was someone named Nara Shikamaru, he had an air of laziness on him but according to Neji, he was a genius. Rock Lee and Aburame Shino played in defense. There was another player with them in defense, whom Naruto thought was weird to be in that mix, his name was Akimichi Chōji, he was overweight to say the least. The blond was amazed at how a footballer was not in shape. No, what amazed him was how could he secure a position in the first league team with his build? It meant he had some special talents that he didn’t know about.

“Neji, I’m off to practice.”

“Alright, Sasuke.”

Naruto’s eyes met Sasuke’s, the raven haired male glared at him and walked out. The blond still didn’t know why, but something in him stirred when ‘Sasuke’ was close. Naruto walked to Neji and asked.

“Captain, how about him? Where does he play?”

The long haired brunet smirked. “That’s our ace, Naruto. He’s our distinguished striker, Uchiha Sasuke. He has the position you want to play.”  
Naruto’s eye sparkled for a different reason than they usually sparkle. “I get the feeling he doesn’t like me.”

A laugh was heard from his right and a hand came to lazily be dropped over his shoulder. “Naruto-kun, oh dear, Naruto-kun, it’s not personal, he doesn’t like anyone.”

The person who spoke was none other than Kiba, Naruto smiled at the male.

“Inuzuka-san –”

“Call me Kiba, Inuzuka is too formal. I’ll call you Naruto. Well, I guess I already did.” The messy haired brunet laughed loudly.

Neji clapped his hands and got the attention of the people present. “Since Naruto-kun has been assigned to our team, today the practice would be to get him to familiarize himself with the team. He’d play in all positions and please, don’t go easy on him.”

Naruto blinked when suddenly everyone was giving him a challenging glare. Kakashi’s words about the spirit morale of the team came to haunt him, and suddenly, he wondered if this really was the right team for him.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto slumped on the floor, every bone in his body hurt. He never practiced so hard before. He wasn’t sure his feet would move an inch anymore. Training was hard, he was drilled to no end and still was considered unfit for any position. Hyuuga Neji was not an angel, he regretted ever putting that label on him. He was a devil in disguise. The blond comforted himself saying that it was his first day, he wasn’t used to the team’s activities, maybe down the line, his body would get used to the harsh treatment. Little did he know how wrong he was.

Throughout the upcoming two weeks, Naruto wasn’t allowed to participate in any game. He was still without a solid position. Though Neji did tell him that he’s considering him for an attacking position, he wasn’t given anything. The blond was lousy at defending or guarding. Those two weeks, he was taught the different formations the team used. He was asked to observe the momentum of different players and to find out how to work with them. Of course, the blond was lousy at using his head and memorizing, but when it came to football, he could pull it off.

As he watched his teammates, Naruto found himself getting drawn to Uchiha Sasuke’s way of playing. The jerk had the worst personality – he was a loner, refused any skinship or chance of deepening his relation with his teammates – however, he was a genius with the ball. The way he played was smooth and strong. You could feel his burning passion and love for the game, Naruto found that it was hard for him not to follow him with his eyes. Every time Sasuke would be on the field, he’d see no one else. The blond disliked this; it has never happened to him before. Yet, he was one to admit when he was hung up on something.

That’s why he decided to try and learn more about the black haired Uchiha. Maybe if he increased his knowledge, he’d be able to see why he was pulled towards the other. In his sight, there were two people he could ask. He started with Sakura.

“You want to know what I know about Sasuke-kun?” The girl blinked, sipping her juice.

Naruto nodded.

“But why? I remember you disliked him.” She inquired, raising a pink brow.

“Neji-senpai told me I need to understand every player’s style. His playing style I can’t understand. I figured if I knew more about him, it would help in understanding him.” He gave her bits and pieces of the truth.

Sakura put a hand under her chin and thought about what she knew. “Well, I know some basic info and some deep ones. For the basic info, Sasuke-kun’s birthday is July 23, he’s a Leo, his height is 170 cm and his blood group is AB positive. For the deeper info, he and I were in the same high school. He was in my classroom but always kept a low profile. He didn’t like mingling with people, I think his only friend was Neji-senpai.”

“So, Neji-senpai went to the same school as you two?” Naruto asked.

She nodded. “Yes, both of them were football-baka. I think their relationship goes way back though. Anyhow, Sasuke-kun is a rich young master, so he has the rich people family drama. I don’t know much about it, but I think his big brother did something bad that it broke the family. I think he embezzled some money or something, it was on the news. That time, Sasuke-kun was very tense. I could see how on edge he was about everything. Everyone kept their distance from him.” Sakura sighed and continued. “That’s all I can tell you. About his football path, I didn’t have a chance to watch many of his matches because I was busy with my club activities, they always had a match when I was on volleyball practice. However, I think if you asked Neji-senpai he’d give you more details about it.”

The blond smiled and thanked her. Actually, she gave him more information than he needed. He even felt like he was invading the privacy of the other a little bit. Naruto shrugged it off though, if Sakura who had no real connection to Sasuke – he didn’t even remember her name – was able to know it, then it must have been public. So in fact, he wasn’t invading any privacy.

The second person on his list was Hyuuga Neji, Naruto was direct in asking about the black haired male. Though Neji was a little bit more curious about Naruto’s sudden interest in Sasuke, and probed him more than Sakura did. The blond was about to stop and drop the whole thing when Neji suddenly started talking.

“I’m not sure if it’s something that would help you get close to him or not, but Sasuke is a complex person. His mouth is bad but he has a kind heart. His eyes are sharp as well, especially when it comes to football. I’ve known him since middle school so I know how much he loves the game. He puts a lot of effort into improving himself. If it was up to him, he’d give up sleep and food to play football.” The long haired male snickered. “That’s how much he loves it. So if you hear him saying something bad, it’s because he demands perfection from anyone who plays. He’s very hard on himself, that’s one of the reasons why he thinks everyone is just lazy.”

“He should know not everyone has the same feelings as he does.” Naruto commented dejectedly, remembering Iruka’s words when he came complaining how his old teammates didn’t appreciate the game like he did.

“Yes, he should, but Sasuke doesn’t. In his head, if you’re on the field, then you should put 100% effort. No excuses are acceptable.”

The blond nodded, somehow he was able to understand the other and relate to his way of thinking. “I understand. What more can you tell me?”

Neji tilted his head thinking hard, before he returned the question when he didn’t have anything to say. “What do you want to know more?”

“I don’t know… anything’s fine.” Naruto shrugged.

Smirking playfully, the long haired male provided. “He’s single~”

The blond was taken aback by that information, he blinked not following why that was given to him. “…So?”

“So, you have a shot, Sasuke doesn’t care about gender.” Neji answered smoothly.

Suddenly, Naruto’s face flamed red and he stumbled off the bench. “SENPAI! What are you thinking?! I’m not interested in him that way! Besides, we are both guys!”

The smirk on Neji’s face only grew in size. “Oh, Naruto-kun, how innocent are you? In this day and age, you can date girls and boys. Love isn’t something caged to one gender. Besides, you suddenly showed a huge interest in Sasuke, what am I to think~?”

“Don’t think I want to date him!! Think other possibilities, please!!” Naruto groaned aloud, still blushing like Virgin Mary.

“Then what is your main reason for wanting to know more about him? Don’t beat around the bush and answer truthfully.” The brunet demanded.

Naruto felt his heart quieten down and he breathed, feeling like there was no need to hide his main reason, he answered. “See… I like the way he plays. I don’t know why, but the minute he’s on the field, my eyes follow him. You told me to study how others are playing to best know where I stand, right?”

“That I did.”

“Well, with him my mind goes blank, I get sucked in and I feel my feet itch. My head goes on ranting ‘I want to play with him’, ‘I want to play with him’, ‘I want to play with him’.” Naruto continued with a puzzled tone. “I thought if I knew more about him, I’d understand why I’m feeling like that.”

“Then my initial guess is right. You’re interested in him.” Neji concluded after a period pf silence, eyes smiling like a content cat.

“Senpai, please, don’t twist my words.”

Holding his pale hands up, the long haired male spoke. “I’m not twisting anything. Anyways, I understand now what you meant. I hope my information helped you in some way, I do want Sasuke to have more people in his life besides me.”

The blond nodded and bowed. “It did, thank you, senpai. I’ll go now to practice, later.”

After Naruto’s form became a little dot, Neji threw a ball that was on his right to the tree branch above him. With a melodious tone, he scolded.

“It’s not nice to eavesdrop, Sasuke.”

Up on the tree, Uchiha Sasuke was lying on a strong tree branch. He hopped down and explained himself. “You were the ones who decided to sit down here and talk. I didn’t eavesdrop.”

“So? What do you think? You have an admirer.”

Neji could see the hint of a faint blush showing on Sasuke’s pale skin. His friend was really too easy to read at times.

“He’s an idiot.”

“I wonder what Naruto-kun would do if he knew you felt the same way too?”

Sasuke’s eyes widened in an instant and he threatened. “Neji, you wouldn’t dare!”

“Tee hee~ it depends on how you act around him. Poor Naruto-kun is doing all his best to understand you, and here you’re acting like he doesn’t matter.”  
“He doesn’t matter.” The raven haired male stubbornly stressed.

“Who was the person who got so impressed with Naruto’s practice game that came running to me, demanding to let him into our team~?” Neji smirked. “For someone who wants to play with him, you’re sending out the wrong signals.”

The blush on Sasuke’s pale skin darkened a little bit. “Shut it, Neji. I just thought he had potential and not harvesting those would be a shame.”  
“Yeah, yeah… you know I have no problem with the little tsundere side of you, but try to show him some kindness. I can’t always fix your misunderstandings for you.”

Sasuke huffed and walked away, Neji sighed at his trail. He knew his words fell on deaf ears, but as Sasuke’s best friend, he needed to say them. The raven haired male was clearly interested in Naruto, but he acted like a kindergartener, bully the one he liked. Neji could still remember the fire of excitement in Sasuke’s eyes as he grasped his shoulders asking him to get Naruto on their team. It was one of those times where Sasuke didn’t have enough time to mask his emotions. The lilac eyed male didn’t think Naruto’s play made such an impression, but apparently it did on Sasuke. Maybe those two were perfect for each other.

Now, the question was, how to get them closer together?

\----------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Naruto-kun, haven’t you noticed that Sasuke-kun has been coming to get you a lot lately?”

The blond looked up from the assignment he was doing, he frowned at the lilac eyed girl and shook his head. “He doesn’t do it because he wants to, he’s forced to do it.”

“Forced? By whom?” She showed interest in his words.

“Probably Neji-senpai. He’s the only one I can think of who can make him do anything.”

“Oh, Neji-san… you’re in the same team as him?”

Naruto grinned. “Yep! I heard you two were cousins. That’s cool. You both have the same unique, beautiful eyes.”

Hinata blushed faintly at his words. Tugging a strand of hair behind her pale ears, she spoke delicately. “Y-Yeah, although we are close in age, Neji-san has always been better than me in everything. Sports, events and even simple tasks. You know, when I was a kid, I was very shy. I stuttered a lot. Neji-san was the only one who never laughed at me or called me names.” She looked back fondly at her perfect cousin. “Even though he was in a position to bully me, he never did. He was and still is very kind.”

The blond smiled at her fondness. “I see.”

“What I am trying to say is, if he’s the one forcing Sasuke-kun to meet you, then it’s probably something Sasuke-kun wants to do himself.” The long haired beauty concluded.

Naruto put the pencil down and scowled, wrapping his arms over his chest. “I doubt that. Sasuke doesn’t want anything to do with me. I have been in the team for a month now and he still refuses to play against me.”

The girl sent a warm smile to his dejected look. “How about you approach him out of the field? Try to build a friendship first.”

A laugh broke free from Naruto’s mouth at her words. The librarian glared at him and pointed to the sign that said ‘Please, Keep Quiet in the Library’. They both bowed to her and the blond whispered.

“I told you, he refuses to even play ball with me, you think he’d want to hang out?”

She shrugged. “You never know; he’s willing to fetch you to practice.” Hinata added when she saw him open his mouth to object. “Even if you think he’s being forced to do it.”

“I don’t know, Hinata-chan, he’s hard to talk to. I don’t want to get scolded again. Remember the last time I ran after him; he probably still holds a grudge about throwing him into the river.”

The girl chuckled, remembering the amusing incident. “I don’t think people hold grudges over small stuff like those, Naruto-kun. Just try it, you won’t lose anything. How about this, if he comes today to get you, try asking him to eat dinner after practice. If he refuses, then it means you should keep your distance, but if he agrees, then Naruto-kun, it means he wants to have some kind of relationship with you.”

Her words made some kind of sense in his head. Naruto wasn’t a coward, asking Sasuke out on lunch wasn’t something hard. With bright eyes, he nodded to her. “Alright! I will do it! I hope it works well.”

When she saw happiness radiate off the other, Hinata grinned back. It’s been a while since she noticed that Naruto wasn’t his usual spirit. She didn’t want to pry – since she wasn’t the type – but she still wanted to help him. Naruto stirred in her emotions no other has in a long time, she really just wanted to always see him smile. The dark haired girl made a mind note to do her best to see that happen.

When the clock hit three PM the blond excused himself and walked out, he had practice to get to. Sadly, Sasuke didn’t come to get him that day. It felt like fate wasn’t on his side, actually, Sasuke didn’t show up for practice either. Naruto wanted to ask Neji, but he didn’t want to feel like he ‘missed’ the raven haired player. However, when three days went by and no sign of the other was seen. He got worried.

Deciding that it was better to ask, Naruto walked to Neji after they finished practicing. The brunet had his hair tied into a bun and was wiping his face with a towel. The small act made him look very elegant. Naruto noted how classy his captain was, really rich young masters had some air of sophistication that a poor male like him didn’t. When Neji caught sight of him, he asked.

“Oh, Naruto-kun, was there something you needed?”

The blond fidgeted. His mind was set on asking about Sasuke, but he was still somewhat embarrassed. “Umm… err… I … hmm…”

Now, Neji’s attention was hooked. He sat on the bench and offered. “Do you have objections about the position I chose for you?”

Naruto shook his head, he was given a temporary position of a center midfielder, of course he was still within trying out different positions. However, Neji said that he wanted him to remain in that one for a while longer. The blond didn’t object anymore, at the beginning he was complaining right and left, but as time passed by and he saw how his skills were improving – he stopped objecting. After all, captain orders were to live by.

“No, no, I’m okay. I have no complains.”

“That’s a first,” Neji playfully teased. “Then what is it? Come on, I don’t have all day.”

Upon being urged, Naruto asked looked anywhere but his captain’s eyes. “Umm… Sasuke… I noticed he’s been absent for a while now. You didn’t say anything about this so I thought it was weird.”

Neji’s face glowed with a huge beam and he clarified. “Oh, you haven’t been with us for long, that’s why you don’t know. Every month or so, Sasuke takes leave for about a week. It’s not something serious so you shouldn’t worry. He’d be back next Friday.”

The blond tilted his head. “Take leave? For what?”

“Hmm… it’s kind of private.”

“Oh.”

Neji watched as Naruto’s face fell immediately, he pondered for a while then spoke. “…But I guess it’s fine if I tell you.”

Naruto had all his attention on his captain.

“Sasuke’s mother is sick, she has some rare blood condition. Every month, she needs to travel abroad for follow up, of course Sasuke goes with her.”

The blond felt a tug at his heart, he didn’t realize the reason was something like this. Maybe he shouldn’t have probed, Sasuke probably didn’t want anyone to learn about his mother’s sickness. But here he was, asking like it was his right to know more about him. Naruto bit his lower lip and asked.

“Why did you tell me this? I think it’s too private.”

Neji stood up and started collecting his towel and water bottle. “Yes, it’s private, but I trust you. Besides, Sasuke probably won’t mind it if you knew.”

“What do you mean by that?” Naruto questioned again, bewildered.

“You should ask him yourself when he gets back, Naruto-kun. Now, excuse me, I have to get home.”

Naruto bowed to his senpai and watched as the other left. Inside of him a part was happy he got another intimate information about Sasuke, but another part was sad that it wasn’t spoken from the mouth of the person concerned himself. Deciding that it was getting late, Naruto headed to get his things and go back home, as well.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke closed his locker and was about to head to practice. They had a match coming soon and right now, they were practicing like there was no tomorrow. He looked at the time and it read seven in the morning. Morning practice was early and today he had no lectures to attend, he didn’t mind. However, when his ears picked up the groans of Kiba and Shikamaru, he felt irritated. Of course, he kept his opinion to himself, knowing perfectly well how it would be received.

“Senpai~ Good morning~!”

His ears picked up on the merry tone he got to be familiar with. Uzumaki Naruto entered the small locker-room. His presence seemed to give life to the dim room. Suddenly, people were talking and laughing. It was like the sun walked into their hearts. Sasuke watched from the corner of his eye Naruto act like an idiot with Kiba and Shikamaru. Shino and Chōji joined the group within minutes. The laughs only quieted down when Neji started explaining the formation they’d practice that morning.

Sasuke wasn’t listening, his attention was drawn to the blond. He himself didn’t know why he was following the other’s movement, but he was. Once Neji finished, they were on the field again. They were divided into two teams. Unfortunately, Naruto wasn’t on his team – Sasuke smacked himself mentally, why get down about something like this? Wasn’t he the one who refused Naruto’s multiple attempts to practice with him?

How many one-on-ones did he ignore and walk away from? Actually, deep down he really wanted to play with the blond, yet… he was too stubborn to admit it. Sasuke didn’t know why he was acting this way; it’s been a long time since he last was interested in anything besides football. Yet here he was, contemplating ways to fix his messed up personality and actually practice with the blond.

Stopping his train of thoughts, Sasuke moved quickly when the ball was passed to him. He easily broke through the players guarding the goal, however, before he was able to score, his eyes saw something that got him distracted. With that, the player aiming to steal the ball successfully did it. Biting his lip, Sasuke tried again to get the ball, he suffered a little but succeeded. Yet, when he scored, he missed. Shikamaru smirked at him and commented.  
“Prince Charming, you’d be mistaken to think I’ll allow such a lousy kick in.”

Sasuke humph-ed and ran away back to his position, he agreed with Shikamaru’s words, his head wasn’t with his that day. He was too preoccupied and distracted. Earlier, he saw Naruto root for his team, that’s why the ball was stolen. The raven haired male knew he needed to concentrate more. He cursed under his breath and continued playing.

Sadly, his play didn’t improve until the game was whistled to an end. Disappointed at everything which went down, the Uchiha annoyingly walked away from his teammates, he chose to go to the secluded side of the field and laid on the soft grass. He looked at the clear skies and just when he closed his eyes to rest, he felt a rustle of grass and someone sitting next to him. Sasuke didn’t open his eyes, thinking it to be Neji, after all, the only one who dared to approach him was the lilac eyed male.

“…I know it’s not my place to pry, and you might not want to tell me, but are you okay?”

As Naruto’s worried tone reached his ears, Sasuke jolted up from his internal agonies.

“What are you doing here?” He tried to sound very calm, maintaining a poker face.

The blond gave him a small smile. “Your play today wasn’t like every other day, I thought you might want someone to talk with.”

Sasuke turned his face away. “…It’s nothing. You should go back.”

Naruto was about to leave, but then he remembered Hinata’s words and pushed. “I… do you, I mean… do you want to have dinner together after practice?”  
The black eyed player blinked, actually the invitation came very unexpectedly. He didn’t think he’d ever be asked to go out together; he definitely didn’t show his interest in the other publically. Well, Sasuke doubted Neji would go right up and expose him, however, now he was faced with two choices. He could act like his normal self and refuse, or accept and see where this road led to. His play that day told him how much he was affected by the blond’s presence. If he continued like that, he might be on the same level as those he scorned. Sasuke sighed inwardly and looked the other in the eyes.

Naruto was clearly fidgeting. This situation was awkward for the both of them. Looking at the ground, Sasuke mumbled softly only for Naruto’s ears to pick up.

“…I don’t mind.”

Sparkles showed on Naruto’s eyes, he got up full of energy and exclaimed. “Then I’ll come find you after practice finishes!”

The raven haired player watched the ball of sunshine called Uzumaki Naruto go back to the field. He didn’t want to, but his heart skipped a beat without his permission.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto greeted the old man at Ichiraku ramen, he took the usual seat he always took and ordered Sasuke and himself some pork ramen with bear. The black haired male put his bag on the ground, he hadn’t been to a ramen booth in a while. Actually the last time was when Neji and Gaara dragged him, they wanted to experience the life of normal high school students. Sasuke put a lid on that memory as the blond before him started talking.

“I can guarantee this is the best ramen in the world!” Naruto bragged. “I’ve been coming here since middle school.”

“…You must really love it then.” He commented offhandedly.

“I do and you sure would, too.”

Not a minute later, they were served their dishes. The blond ate like he was in heaven, Sasuke took his chopsticks and dipped into the noodles. It actually tasted quiet good, he didn’t know if it’s something he’d eat for a long time like Naruto obviously did, but it wasn’t inedible.

“It’s good, right?” The blond asked hopefully.

“It’s not bad.”

“Go on, eat some more.”

They continued eating in silence. Sasuke actually wasn’t a talkative person and Naruto didn’t know what to say. He was the one who asked the other out, but he was still walking on eggshells around him. Yet, seeing how Sasuke had accepted his invitation and was acting liked a civilized human being for once, the blond got a little bit greedy.

“I wanted to ask you something.” He began with a neutral tone. “Why do you hate me?”

Sharp onyx eyes looked at him, Sasuke clarified. “I don’t hate you.”

“You always scold me, insult me or fight me. Remember the first time we met? You called me ‘worthless’.”

Sasuke ate some noodles and commented. “I didn’t mean your person, I meant the way you played.”

“It was ‘worthless’?”

“You were too conceited and underestimated your opponents. You were overly confident. Though it’s a good thing to have confidence in your skills, you need to recognize that there are people stronger out there.”

The blond couldn’t refute his words, he was right. Naruto’s first game was a disaster. He sighed and said. “You’re right, I was wrong back then.”

“Hn.”

Even though he said nothing, Sasuke was glad his words were accepted. It’s been a while since someone didn’t take him the wrong way.

“Can I ask something else?” When no objections were made, he continued. “Why do you always refuse to train with me? Since you don’t hate me, I’m confused.”

Sasuke remained quiet at this, he wasn’t sure how to answer. Simply because, he had no clear answer. There was no reason why he refused him, he just did. Maybe he didn’t want to get close and become familiar, or maybe he was just scared or shy –

“Is it because I caused you to fall in the river?” Naruto offered, interrupting his thoughts.

Sasuke blinked then shook his head. “I won’t refuse you over something that silly. Besides, it wasn’t your fault, you grabbed the closest thing to you.”  
Grinning like a fox, Naruto countered. “Then it means there’s no reason. Next time, please agree. I really want to practice with you!”

“Why?”

“Because I like the way you play.” The blond found himself speaking his mind without filtration.

The black eyed male remained silent at declaration. He had people praise his play many times, but Sasuke didn’t know why this time was special. He was happy. Looking the other in the eyes, he was met with clear azure orbs. His stomach did flip flops and he ignored it.

“Then come to my house.” Sasuke invited. “I’d take you up on your offer there.”

Naruto’s eyes widened, already getting an invitation to his house, they sure were moving fast. He grinned and nodded.

“It’s a date then, Uchiha Sasuke.”

“Hn.”

With that they continued eating the rest of their dinner in peace.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto whistled at the huge estate, he toed behind the butler who met him at the front door. Sakura did mention Sasuke was rich, Naruto just didn’t know how rich until then. He was taken through lots of corridors, finally, the butler bowed before a door.

“Sasuke-sama is waiting for you, he asks that you change into one of the uniforms in here.”

Naruto knotted his brows but entered the room. He found three different set of football uniforms. He picked the one with an orange and black design and wore the shoes matched with it. He got out and found the butler waiting for him. They walked thought different sets of corridors, then finally Naruto was directed to the outside. His eyes widened in surprise at the huge court that was placed in the middle of the enormous garden.

Sasuke was warming up on the sides, he ran over to him upon spotting the blond. The black eyed male nodded his butler to leave and greeted his guest. “You’re here.”

“Yeah… I am.” Naruto replied sheepishly, not knowing what to say to the other’s greeting.

“Well, start warming up. We will have a match after you do.”

Blinking, Naruto looked at the huge court and asked. “A match? Just the two of us?”

“Yes. You will try not to get me to score and I’d do the same. The loser has to do whatever the other wants.” Sasuke set the rules simply.

Naruto rolled his eyes. “What’s with this childish set up?”

“Then what do you want the winner to do to the loser?”

“Hmm… does the loser have to do something?”

Sasuke frowned at him. “It’s meaningless if there’s no reward. Even at real games, you play hard to win because there’s a reward in the end. Us just running around without a goal isn’t exciting.”

It was logical, so Naruto contemplated. “Okay, we’ll have a reward, but not something fancy. I’m against violence, abuse and corrosion.”

This time, it was Sasuke’s turn to roll his eyes. “Who wants to do those things to you?”

“You were the one who said ‘the loser should do whatever the winner wants’.”

“I meant something light, like maybe treat to a meal or run errands for a week. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

Naruto thought hard about this, then something flashed in his head. He excitedly asked. “Then, then, how about going to an amusement park!?”

“Amusement park?” Sasuke wrinkled his nose. “Why would you want to go there? It’s childish.”

“No, it’s not! There’s this amusement park that has a football themed rollercoaster. I read about it last week, I’m too broke to go there. However, if I win against you, please take me there and pay for the whole thing!”

“Now you’re extorting me.” Sasuke smirked.

Naruto grinned. “It’s you who said anything goes.”

“Well, it’s fine by me. Now, go warm up. Winning against me won’t be easy.” Sasuke warned as he left for the other side of the court.

The blond started stretching, after fifteen minutes, they called the beginning of the game. Since Naruto was his guest, Sasuke allowed him to have the first shot. However, in less than a minute, he was able to steal it away. Sasuke was more skilled than Naruto, it was hard to get the ball back from him. In the first twenty minutes, Sasuke scored his first goal. He smirked at the blond. Yet, Naruto wasn’t the type who goes down without a fight. He used his strength and was able to maneuver past Sasuke, this time, there was no one in front of him and he kicked, evening the score.

They continued playing until the time was up. Sadly, for Naruto, Sasuke won over him, 3-1. Apparently after his first goal, Naruto wasn’t given any chances at other shots.

Lying on the court, Naruto could feel his tears trek down his cheeks. He really wanted to win and go to that amusement park. But now, not only was he robbed the chance to go, he would have to obey whatever stupid request the other demanded. He groaned aloud for Sasuke to hear.  
The raven haired male handed him a bottle of water and rolled his eyes. “Don’t be such a sore loser.”

“…” He groaned some more.

Sasuke smirked and told him. “Well, for my rewards… I want –”

“Just to be clear, my family’s poor, I can’t invite you to fancy places and god knows I can’t buy you anything.”

“Why do you think I’d ask for something expensive?” The black eyed male questioned.

“You have a court in your backyard.” Naruto reasoned. “believe me, you’d have an expensive taste.”

“I don’t own any of these things, it’s my father’s money. It’s not mine.”

“Your father’s money is your money. Anyway, just let it out, let’s hear it… what do you want me to do?”

Sasuke stayed silent for a while, then softly said. “I want you to ….”

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What should Sasuke’s request be? Lol I’m open to suggestions. Review, please. Thank you for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto’s eyes sparkled when he saw the huge rollercoaster, the line was so long but he didn’t mind. Clutching his backpack, he inspected the map of the theme park at hand. He recalled earlier when Sasuke’s request was for them to go to the park together. Naruto was baffled as to why the raven haired male decided to give him the reward, but Sasuke insisted that it was something he felt like doing too. However, to Naruto’s pleasure, he wasn’t asked to pay for the Uchiha, they agreed to share the cost.

However, once they entered the big theme park, they were congratulated at winning the lucky number for set entrances. The blond wasn’t aware that there was such a contest, the reward was that they got a free day; meaning they could play any game for free for that day. Naruto was about to hug the living hell out of the amusement park worker when Sasuke stopped him. They were given a platinum card, and were told to show it to the staff when they wanted to play. So far, they used it six times.

They wanted to start with the rollercoaster, but the line was very long and they didn’t want to waste time waiting. Therefore, they went to some other games, like the kamikaze ride and race cars. Naruto was happy that he and Sasuke had the same taste in games, they liked thrilling rides or something that they could compete in. As the afternoon closed in, they got some ice-cream and cold beverages, afterwards they headed towards the football themed rollercoaster. Currently, the two were standing beside the ‘one hour left until riding’ sign. Naruto sighed and fixed the cap on his head, shielding from the sun.

“It’s hot.” The blond commented, trekking the ice-cream that dripped down his hand.

Sasuke ignored the uncivilized action and nodded. “Sure, it is.”

“Do you think we should give this up?”

“It’s the reason we came in the first place, are you giving up already?”

Puffing his cheeks, Naruto answered. “No, but it’s too hot and we have to wait for another hour. I mean, I do want to ride it, but I never knew it would be this long… I hate waiting.”

The black eyed male nodded, he was able to notice how impatient the other was. Naruto insisted on them riding rides that had short lines, however, almost every ride he wanted to get on had a line. Maybe they chose a bad day?

“Since we made it this far, let’s just wait.” Sasuke commented.

A groan left Naruto’s mouth as he whined. “But it’s soooo hoooooot~”

This time Sasuke stayed silent. He was a man who knew when to keep his mouth shut and not engage, but as the blond continued whining and complaining, he decided that the best means to distract him was by talking. He should get the other’s mind off the waiting topic.

“During the practice game with our A-2, second lineup, who made your formation?”

The blond was taken back by his sudden question, he rubbed his head as he answered. “The captain and I thought of it.”

“It was good.”

“You think so?” A grin lit Naruto’s eyes. “I actually was thinking a lot about it. They had a very strong formation and we wouldn’t have won if we faced them head on. They were stronger than us in everything, strengths, stamina and maneuvers. Probably the way they trained was different, that’s why I had to think of something that we could use to win.”

“It was an unusual plan. You risked a lot.” Sasuke spoke up. “If you’d started off with it, you wouldn’t have won. A lot of elements worked in your favor, you were lucky.”

Naruto didn’t know if he was being complemented or insulted. Sometimes, it was like that with Sasuke, especially when it came to playing football. Deciding to take the words as they are and not to overthink, he replied.

“Yeah, timing was everything. I’m glad luck was on our side that day. In fact, I made a little bet with manager Kakashi,” Embarrassed, the blond spoke. “I’m not sure if you knew about it or not, but the bet was if I were to win, he’d transfer me to group A-2, second lineup.”

Sasuke hid from Naruto the fact that everyone knew about his little bet and pretended not to know. Asking with a puzzled tone. “But how were you able to switch here? Kakashi wouldn’t allow it a second time.”

Grinning, the blond replied. “It’s all thanks to Neji-senpai, he told me about something manager Kakashi wanted, a lost volume from a book, I asked Iruka and his editor was able to get it for me. I bargained the volume with a place.”

“Hmm… you’re sneaky.” Sasuke commented.

Naruto puffed his cheeks in protest. “I was desperate! I wanted to play on your team, you guys were so cool when I played with you, I couldn’t shake that feeling off. Besides,” He added. “In this world, if you want something you should use everything you have to attain it, and as long as no one is hurt, it’s fine.”  
Nodding his agreement, the raven haired male walked when they were signaled to advance. They were getting closer to the rollercoaster. Before Naruto could come to complain again, he asked him.

“Who’s Iruka?”

The blond blinked and replied. “He’s my dad.”

“You call your dad with his given name?” Sasuke croaked a brow.

“Well, he’s my dad and not my dad.”

Feeling perplexed even more at his answer, the black eyed male pried. “I don’t understand.”

“My real parents died when I was a kid, Iruka was my father’s friend, he adopted me then and officially he’s my father. He allowed me though to retain my family’s name. actually, I have my mother’s last name. You see, my father’s family was against him marrying my mother, even though they didn’t refuse her entirely. They just decided they wanted nothing to do with us. My mother on the other hand didn’t have any family, so when I was born, as not to have her name die out, he asked that I take on her family’s name. My father said that his family will already carry out his name, but there was no one in my mother’s family to do so…” Naruto finished with a grin. “Don’t you think he’s romantic?”

Sasuke was a little taken aback by the private information that he was being told. Naruto spoke about his life like it was someone else’s story. There were no hidden emotions. Delight and happiness were visible in his eyes. The raven haired male felt himself unconsciously fix the cap on Naruto’s head, then patted it.

“Yes, he must have loved your mother deeply.”

The small act and those kind words made Naruto’s smile widen. Actually, talking about his parents wasn’t easy. He was proud of Iruka and proud to tell anyone who asked who he was to him, but at the same time, when he told people he was adopted and an orphan, a look of pity would cross over their eyes. Not once in his life did he think he was unfortunate. True, his parents were dead, but he wasn’t alone. Iruka never made him feel like he lost his parents. So being pitied felt like an insult to the brunt’s efforts. Naruto sometimes shied away from discussing anything that would relate to his family’s situation; because he feared this.

Yet now, he was happily reciting everything, it was weird how comfortable he felt with the black eyed Uchiha.

“In my family,” Sasuke found himself speaking. “There’s only my mother and I. I had one elder brother but my father disowned him. My big brother, Itachi, was perfect. He was the heir to my father’s companies. Since we were young, the way he was brought up was different than mine. He was always treated a little bit strictly; my father didn’t allow my mother to interfere with his upbringing while I was left to her. Itachi never once complained, he would take everything and do as told. My brother was very kind. I could see he would break one day, but I didn’t do anything.”

Naruto and Sasuke walked as the line advanced again. The blond kept quiet and waited for Sasuke to continue.

“When I was in second year in high school, my brother lost it. He embezzled a lot of money from my father’s companies and fled out the country. My father was outraged. He didn’t believe the son he raised himself would betray him. But you know what, mother and I were glad. My brother has never done anything wrong, this was the first act of rebellion he portrayed. It made the news and my father was hell-bent on finding him, but he couldn’t do it.” Sasuke released a laugh. “I hope he never finds him. Itachi should live freely. He should do what he wants and live his life by his own rules.”

The blond didn’t know what to say, yet before he spoke, Sasuke said.

“You know; I honestly am happy that my brother decided to break free. The money he embezzled was probably his retaliation for father’s treatment throughout the years. Logically, he didn’t need to do anything, he was smart enough to make his own money, we all knew the reason behind his embezzlement.”

“Then, why are you studying business administration?” Naruto asked a little curious about the answer.

The black eyed male looked at him. “Why indeed. You know, I’ve loved football since as long as I can remember. I never saw myself without it, I still want to pursue it as a career. However, I also need to share the burden with Itachi. He was forced out of our home because I ignored his troubles. It’s time for me to atone. That’s why I will inherit the stuff he left behind. I will fill the shoes he discarded. It might not be enough to get him to come back, but I hope one day he would feel it’s alright to come. That there was someone here who would help him and hold his hand.”

Naruto put a hand on Sasuke’s shoulder, he squeezed lightly sending his silent support. He didn’t think the other would open up to him about his family so soon. He appreciated Sasuke’s words and was glad he trusted in him enough to tell him this.

“I’m sure he’d be back one day, never lose hope.”

“Hn.”

They were asked to advance a third time. The blond looked at the line and he could count how many people were in front of him. Smiling that they were getting closer to their destination, suddenly he turned to where Sasuke should have been at but the raven haired male was nowhere to be found. Blinking at the sudden disappearance of his companion, Naruto didn’t know what to do but wait. When there was only one group of people left until their role comes, Naruto sweat-dropped. He brought his cell phone and was about to dial Sasuke’s number, then he realized he didn’t have the other’s contact information.

Did Sasuke go back home and leave him? Naruto shook that possibility, he just told him something to intimate, no one would say stuff like those to someone they wanted to desert…right?

Naruto felt his anxiety raise when it was finally their turn, the minute the people in the roller coaster leave, he’d be asked to board. Actually as much as he wanted to enter, he didn’t want to ride without Sasuke. They came here together, what point if he’s the only one enjoying himself. When the park worker asked him to ride, Naruto allowed the people behind him to go first. He waited with the other group.

Time stretched on and two hours passed since then. Unfortunately, it was time for the last group to enter. The amusement park worker asked him if he really didn’t want to ride with the last group, Naruto was perplexed, but at the end, he refused and left. He sat on a bench close to the hellish rollercoaster, his eyes teared a little when he heard the laughs and squeals of joy from the last group. He should have just ridden with them. Waiting for Sasuke was pointless, now he didn’t even know what to do anymore. Evening was drawing close and he needed to leave soon.

They had actually met in front of the amusement park, so even if he left alone it wasn’t a problem. Just when he was about to head to the gates and call it a day, he saw the raven haired male come towards him walking in slow steps. Naruto was about to yell at him but as he saw Sasuke’s bandaged head and bruised face, his eyes got worried.

“Sasuke, what happened!?” Naruto exclaimed as he ran towards him.

Onyx orbs brightened vividly at the call, the blond was too preoccupied with Sasuke’s condition that he didn’t notice the slight change in the other’s aura. Softly, as if he was afraid the air would hurt his cut lips, the black haired Uchiha commented. “I went to get us something to drink but stuff happened.”  
Naruto frowned at the curt answer and shouted. “That won’t cut it! You disappear on me without any word then come looking like this, tell me now… what happened?”

“Ano… I can explain.”

Naruto blinked at the sweet voice coming from behind Sasuke, just then did he see the girl hiding behind his friend. She had short brown hair and big matching caramel eyes. She wore a mini skirt and an overlarge shirt, tugged under her skirt. Naruto looked at the fidgeting female and at Sasuke who refused to explain. He tried to ease his voice as not to scare the small girl and requested.

“Please, do.”

“Uchiha-kun saved me earlier, that’s why he was late. I was buying some beverages for my friends, a guy was recording under my skirt, Uchiha-kun saw him and got in a fight because of me.” She dejectedly looked at the bruised male. “I’m so sorry again… it’s my fault all this had happened.”

Naruto sighed, he could picture the scene now. Smiling to the tiny girl, he comforted. “There’s no need for you to be. Anyone would do what he did, he’s very strong. You don’t need to worry.”

The girl bowed and gave Sasuke’s bag that she was clutching to Naruto. The blond accepted it alongside the three candy pieces she gave as a thank you gift. Looking at her wave goodbye to them, he smirked at his companion.

“You’re really a prince charming.”

Sasuke rolled his eyes at him and snatched his bag. “Shut up.”

They walked in silence, looking at the gates of the attractions they went through close. Naruto thought back on how he didn’t have time to ride this and that, there was a circus that he’d just noticed. Sighing, he thought that he needed to come another time.

“This was the first time…”

His blue orbs looked at the Uchiha when Sasuke started speaking. “Excuse me?”

As if talking to himself, Sasuke continued. “My name. This is the first time you call it.”

Naruto felt something in him stir at those words, but he ignored it. Coughing lightly, he thought a bit. “Really? I’m sure I called you once or twice. This can’t honestly be the first time –”

“It is.” Sasuke looked at him in the eyes. “If you’d called my name, I’d have remembered.”

Somehow, the blond was getting embarrassed. He shifted his eyes away from those captivating ones and nonchalantly said. “Well, I don’t think you called my name, too. How about we drop all honorifics and just call each other’s given names?”

A smirk showed on Sasuke’s lips, causing the cut to throb at the stretch. “You do realize you’re my kouhai, right? Basically, you’re being shameless right now.”  
Naruto’s mouth gaped like a fish out of water. His eyes widened as he exclaimed in utter shock. “YOU’RE OLDER!!?”

A few eyes looked at them oddly, Sasuke pretended that he had nothing to do with the blond as he quickened his base. He was one who hated attention. Unfortunately for him, his companion brought attention everywhere he went.

“Sasuke! Wait up! When’s your birthday? Tell me!”

The Uchiha slowed his steps and rolled his eyes. “I see you’re already using my first name.”

“Birthday!” Naruto demanded, ignoring him.

“July, 31st. Happy now?”

The blond recalled when Sakura told him about Sasuke’s birthday, wasn’t the date wrong? Was Sasuke playing with him or maybe Sakura was the one who got a wrong date for the raven haired male? However, he knew he couldn’t ask Sasuke without having to reveal where he got the information about his birthday from. Deciding that it was best not to question and take Sasuke’s words as truth, Naruto asked more.

“What year?”

The raven haired male picked up his pace. “Naruto, I’m older than you, period. You can ask all you want, but it won’t change the facts.”

Naruto felt his stomach flip when those soft lips called his name. he didn’t why but a strange feeling swirled inside him… a feeling he liked. Grinning like an idiot, he questioned more.

“By how many years? Or is it months?”

“You’re in your first year, right? I’m in my second –”

“Only one year? That’s awesome!”

Sasuke looked at him and scowled. “You need to learn not to interrupt people. So as I was saying, I’m in my second year, I should have been in my third, but I was held back a year in middle school.”

Knotting his brows, the blond questioned. “Middle school? Why?”

Onyx orbs looked away from him to the gates and gently, he answered. “I don’t want to talk about it now.”

If anything, Naruto was one who honored people’s boundaries. Sasuke was telling him that he wasn’t close enough for that information and he respected that. Choosing to omit the whole topic and switch to another one, Naruto conjured.

“You know, Sasuke, you left me for three hours, let’s say you fought with that asshole, why did it take such a long time for you to come back?”

Sasuke silently thanked the blond for respecting his wishes, then answered him. “We caught him and had to wait for the park’s security to come, she filed a complaint against him to the police afterwards. I was taken to the infirmary. I head-butted that bastard so the doctor didn’t allow me to leave until he made sure I was alright. He advised me to head straight to the hospital… now that I’m thinking about it, I should go, my head hurts.”

Naruto was on his toes in a second, worry clouding his eyes. “Then why didn’t you? You should have gone. There was no need to come back here, the rollercoaster closed ages ago.”

“Then why didn’t you go back home?” Sasuke’s eyes were sharp as he returned the question.

The blond felt his heart skip at Sasuke’s words, he remembered the set of emotions he experienced while waiting. Unbeknownst to him, he smiled warmly. “Well, sorry to burst your bubbles, but I wasn’t waiting for you. I was about to go back home.”

“Hn.”

A pale hand was extended to him, Naruto tilted his head, not knowing what was needed of him. “What?”

“Your phone number. I realized I don’t have it.”

The blond was about to give him the number, but he couldn’t pass an opportunity to tease. “Well, well, aren’t you busy today, saving damsels in distress and still trying to pick me up? What a player~”

“Stop being an idiot and give it.”

Naruto quickly took out his cellphone, he gave it to Sasuke who dialed his number and saved his on Naruto’s phone. Then handed it to him, before doing the same to his own phone. The blond looked at the number, it was saved under ‘Uchiha Sasuke’. He rolled his eyes, no originality at all. He made a mind note to change it to a befitting nickname later on.

“Should we leave then?” Naruto asked when he saw Sasuke clutching his head. “You need to go to the hospital now.”

“Hn.”

Sasuke didn’t object to his suggestion, with that they left the amusing theme park. Naruto was a little sad he didn’t get to ride the hellish rollercoaster, but he was consoled when he thought of how close he and Sasuke were getting to each other. Truly, it was a great day.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Naruto, I have to go to Osaka for three days. I leave on Monday and would be back Thursday morning. Would you be fine by yourself?”

Those were the words his caretaker told him before Naruto left for university that morning. The blond sighed as he entered the hall of his faculty. Three days alone. He didn’t mind being by himself, after all, he wasn’t a child – he had past experience with staying by himself. But Naruto was lazy, he didn’t cook, clean or do any of the house chores. Now that Iruka was away, he’d need to fend and take care of the house himself. Which meant, he wouldn’t have as much free time to play football as he liked.

Their match was on Friday, actually this was the worst week for Iruka not to be home. Naruto’s mind was preoccupied throughout his first and second lectures. Actually, he didn’t think he paid any attention to anything that day. Overthinking about stuff was sadly, one of his bad habits. As he made his way to the football field, he was met with Gaara. The silent redhead was always tagging behind Neji like a shadow. Naruto thought it was weird how attached he was, but never voiced that opinion.

“Naruto.” Gaara greeted him as he started bouncing the ball.

“Where’s Neji-senpai today? You’re not together.” It was more of a statement rather than a question.

The pale redhead answered. “He has DR class today. I think he won’t make it to practice.”

“Oh.”

Naruto wanted to say that their game was very close and they needed to practice but let it go. It wasn’t his place to question people’s circumstances. From the corner of his eye he saw Sasuke, the bandages on his head were removed. That night when they went to the ER department, he did a head scan and everything was alright, no concussion or any form of serious injuries. Sasuke was forced to spend the night just in case – of course, Naruto stayed with him. He was released the following morning with some painkillers and an advice to rest for three days, after which the raven haired male could continue his normal activities.

“Excuse me, Gaara-senpai.”

Naruto ran away to the Uchiha’s side, the redhead only nodded to his departure.

“Sasuke, how are you?”

The black eyed male greeted back, already starting to warm up his body. “Good, you?”

“I’m doing fine. Hey, I wanted to ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

“Do you have something to do Monday morning?” Naruto fidgeted in his position.

Sasuke thought up on his schedule and said. “I have two lectures in the morning, then I wanted to practice some more. Probably have nothing to do at the end of the day, why?”

“Then how about Tuesday?” The blond quickly switched to the next day.

“It’s free. However, I wanted to practice.”

Naruto scowled. It felt like every free minute of Sasuke’s day, he’d want to practice. He understood the emotions, he himself was feeling them, yet how could he ask the raven haired male to come over to hang out and discard practice? Then an idea formed in his head.

“Then Tuesday after we finish practice, I want you to come over to my house.”

Sasuke stopped warming up and looked Naruto in the eyes. “A home visit? Why?”

“There’s no particular reason, you invited me to your house that time so I’m returning the gesture.”

“No need. The game’s coming up, we can reschedule this.”

The blond didn’t think he’d be turned down, he dejectedly nodded. If Sasuke didn’t want to visit him, then there was nothing he could do about it. Deciding not to dwell on the bad, he found a nearby ball and took it.

“Okay, I’ll take a raincheck on that then.”

Naruto ran off to where their team was assembled and mingled with the other players. Sasuke watched him from behind and blocked the feeling of missing a golden opportunity from his head.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“It’s okay, Iruka, don’t worry. I’ll be fine. No, no, I didn’t skip any meals. The house is fine,” Naruto rolled his eyes at his nagging father, he nodded even though the other wasn’t able to see him. “Yes, yes, I will. Iruka, stop nagging, God! Everything’s fine, I can live until you come back. No, I’m not lonely. Okay, take care, don’t forget to bring souvenirs.”

With that Naruto closed the line. He sighed. It was Thursday, Iruka was supposed to come back, however the brunet called to inform him that his stay would extend until Sunday. Naruto was dejected at the news, but he didn’t show it. He knew that the minute Iruka sensed he wasn’t alright with it; he’d come flying back. If anything, Naruto didn’t want to be a burden. Iruka’s work was important to him and he made his peace with loneliness a long time ago.

The game was the next day. One of the reasons he was sad was because he wanted his father to attend. It had been a while since Iruka last saw him play. Naruto went into his room, changed into his football uniform and left the house. Quickly, he found his way to the vast field of his university’s club. It was nine at night, supposedly, no one should be there – however, he found some members of his team practicing. Brightening, he went down to the field and met the sweaty players.

“Hi, everyone, I didn’t think anyone would be here this late.”

Chōji, Kiba, Shino and Shikamaru all glanced at him. The one who answered was Kiba though.

“There was nothing better for us to do, so we came. You know, it’s hard for us to sleep before a big game.”

“Speak for yourself. I was dragged here against my will.” The lazy tone of Shikamaru refuted Kiba’s words. A not so gentle growl was sent to him.  
“If we left you alone, you’d sleep until you die!” Kiba barked.

Shikamaru seemed to decide that engaging in more conversation would make his low energy die out, so he closed his mouth and yawned, signaling the end of his participation in speech. Naruto was able to learn a few fun facts about the males before him. They were friends since middle school, and were used to each other’s personalities. Kiba was the loud, obnoxious one, Shikamaru was the lazy, smart one. Shino was well – Naruto couldn’t define him because simply he was too mysterious. The blond wanted to know why he always wore shades, but every time he would come to question him, the black haired male would answer in a mysterious way. It made Naruto’s head hurt form trying to think of the deeper meaning, that’s why he decided to just take him as he was… shades and all.

Chōji was very simple to understand. He liked food. He was that friend who always spoke about food and just being with him, made you hungry. The big guy had a vast knowledge about the best places to dine. Naruto was amazed at his palate. Chōji had an excellent taste! Naruto once asked him to recommend a ramen shop – since Sasuke was complaining about him going to the same place for ages – he gave him directions to a ramen stand which blew his senses away. From that day onwards, Naruto would frequent that place alongside Ichiraku.

Smiling at them, he said. “What are you practicing? Can I join?”

Chōji kicked the ball to him. “We were going over a technique Shikamaru developed for shooting.”

Naruto received the ball and twirled it between his feet, rejoicing at the familiar feeling. He raised a brow and enquired. “A shooting technique?”

“Yes,” Shikamaru answered him, feeling like he was the best to explain what they were doing. “When a player shoots, he tends to use his favorite leg unconsciously. The goalkeeper has to decide which foot the player will use to score. Sadly, Kiba, Shino and Chōji are very obvious in this. They don’t even know how to conceal it right. That’s why most of their shoots get caught. I want them to learn to deceive the goalkeeper and use their non-dominant feet to score.”

“So… you want them to bluff?”

“Yes.”

Naruto nodded at his clarification, the lazy genius felt like that explanation took the life out of him as he retreated to the shadows, probably taking a rest. Naruto aimed his words at Chōji.

“How is your progress going?”

“Baaaad!” The chubby male replied. “I don’t know how to focus on my non-dominant leg without making it obvious, Shikamaru makes it sound very easy, but it’s haaaard!”

Naruto looked at Shino and Kiba who nodded repeatedly, sharing their comrade’s thoughts. Thinking of a way to help the three, the blue eyed blond got an idea.

“How about I show you how it’s done? I have been practicing concealing my thoughts while playing for a while now. Hey, Shikamaru-san,” He called the relaxed male. “Can you help me out a bit?”

Shikamaru wasn’t fond of moving, however, he knew if he wanted this day to end, he’d need them to learn fast enough. He reluctantly walked towards the goal. Getting in position and putting his protective gloves on, he waited for the blond to kick the ball.

Naruto warmed up for five minutes then headed towards the goal. Before he started running, he instructed the three to look at his feet and for each to put in mind which foot he’d use in scoring. Naruto reached the goal in seconds and without much thought, he kicked the ball. Shikamaru’s feet moved to the left but in a split second, they changed direction to the right, it was hard but he caught Naruto’s ball in both hands.

A look of disappointment which altered in a second flashed across Naruto’s eyes. Shikamaru looked at him with serious eyes and complemented.

“You’re good.”

Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “But not good enough, you caught it.”

“It wasn’t an easy catch, you fooled me until the last second.”

Laughing, the blond countered. “It would’ve worked if I fooled you until the end.”

Shikamaru smirked at him and retreated to the shadows once more. His fingertips burned and he fisted his hands. Few were able to burn the inside of his gloves like that, Uzumaki Naruto wasn’t someone he should take lightly.

The three players were beside Naruto in seconds.

“Oh my God, Naruto! I totally thought it’s going to the left!” Kiba howled.

“Me, too.” Shino nodded.

“Me three.” Chōji raised his hand.

The blond smiled at them and picked up the ball that Shikamaru discarded. “Actually, the trick is easy. You just need to not think about which feet you’ll score with. If you think about it, the goalkeeper will read the little gestures you make. We might not notice it, but our body tells a lot about us. My old coach told me this, he said that even if I think I’m hiding my thoughts well, the body betrays. In football, one wrong gesture can cost you a whole game. So… my advice to you is not to think, keep it simple.”

The three looked at him then at each other, the advice was a little different than what they were used to. No one has ever told them not to think, maybe not to overthink, but not to think entirely was… new.

“It’s something original, I tell you.” Chōji commented. “let’s give it a shot!”

His two other friends nodded. Naruto smiled and watched as they all continued giving his advice some practice. Shikamaru on the other hand, groaned aloud for all of them to hear when he was told to come guard the goal once more.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the second half of the game, Naruto felt his feet burn. He wasn’t part of the main formation because Neji said he wasn’t needed. The blond had expected to be enrolled, sure he wasn’t given an official number just yet, but he worked his ass off the past few months and thought his efforts would be appreciated. However, his shock at being benched made him want to kill something.

“I’m glad Iruka wasn’t here for this.” He mumbled under his breath.

Yes, how embarrassing would it be to brag that he was playing when he wasn’t. Naruto bit the insides of his lip when a player from the opposite team stole the ball from his team. He wanted to shout at the player but his tongue was tied. That player had the right to be on the field, he didn’t.

“Relax, Naruto.” A calm voice called from his right. “It’s not time for you to make an appearance yet.”

Naruto glared at the silver haired manager, he had a feeling he was the reason he wasn’t included in the formation. “Manager Kakashi, please tell me it wasn’t you who refused to allow me to play.”

Kakashi looked him in the eyes and answered. “Yes, you’re not ready.”

“What do you mean by that? I passed everything Neji-senpai gave.”

“Neji isn’t in charge of the team, I am. His opinion is taken into consideration, but it’s my call who plays and who doesn’t.”

“You mean Neji-senpai wanted me to play?”

Kakashi nodded, shouting at one of his players to keep his composure. “Yes.”

The blond told his ragging nerves to calm down, there was no means in shouting and acting like an idiot. Kakashi’s words were true, he was the manager, after all. Whatever he says goes, if he thought Naruto wasn’t ready and this wasn’t his time, then the blond would trust that call. This was the dream team, and their manager’s opinion was probably just. He just needed to stop the fire within from exploding.

The game was about to end, only ten minutes left, they were leading by three goals. Naruto hated how he won’t be able to make an appearance. Ten minutes later, the referee whistled and both teams bowed in respect, ending the game. Naruto took his bag and was about to leave the stadium when Kakashi held him by the hem.

“Wait, you’re not leaving just yet.”

The blond frowned, disliking being treated like a stray dog. “The game’s already ended, what do you need me for?”

Kakashi smiled. “There’s another game after this, you’ll be participating.”

Big azure orbs widened in shock. Naruto looked at the members of his team – who were already boarding the bus – they ignored him. He asked his manager in confusion.

“What other game? I thought we only had this game today.”

“No, it’s an unofficial one. Actually, it’s more of a practice game than an actual match and we were asked, so you’ll go.”

Naruto didn’t want to question more and blow his chances at playing, official or unofficial it didn’t matter, what mattered was that he gets to play. However, one question was on his mind.

“Who are we playing against?”

Kakashi grinned and didn’t answer him. He signaled him to get in his manager’s car and off they went. The blond asked where the rest of the team was and why wasn’t he allowed to go with them on the bus, but Kakashi refused to answer, he only told him to wait until they reached their destination. An hour later, the blond looked at the high school building they parked before. He was full of questions but followed after his manager. They entered the school and made their way to the field. Naruto’s face brightened when he saw Sasuke sitting on a bench with his legs crossed.

It’d been a while since he last saw the Uchiha, probably since the last time he was rejected on the invitation home. Sasuke wasn’t in the official game as well – something Naruto was perplexed about. jogging the short distance separating them, he greeted with a grin.

“Sasuke! You’re participating in this game, too?”

The black eyed Uchiha looked at the excited male and croaked a brow. “...I see; he didn’t tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

“It’s not the ‘team’ he needs, it’s just ‘you’ and ‘I’.”

Not understanding what the other meant, Naruto’s puzzled thoughts came to an end when Kakashi caught up with him.

“Sasuke, I’m glad to see you’d accepted my invitation.”

The Uchiha humph-ed at him and stood up. “You made sure I had no other choice.”

Slyly, the silver haired male commented. “Sure, you have. I’m all about free will.”

Sasuke ignored him and sat back down. Naruto looked between them but before he questioned, Kakashi enlightened.

“Well, since you’re both here then it’s time I tell you, Naruto, what’s going on.” he addressed the blond. “You and Sasuke will help this high school’s team win today’s game.”

The blond blinked at him, as it sank in, his eyes widened and he exclaimed. “HUH!?”

“Just like I said, you will play with them and win the game.”

“…This is a high school, it’s a high school team, manager.” Naruto reasoned.

“So?”

“I’m pretty sure, it’s against the rules for us to play.”

“Nonsense!” Kakashi refuted nonchalantly. “You’re in your first year so it’s not like it’s that much difference from high school, and Sasuke would pass as a third year… probably.”

Naruto pondered his thoughts a little but shook his head. “Even if, it’s not right. We can’t play this game.”

The silver haired male looked him in the eyes and explained. “Then, Naruto, you be the one to tell them that. I won’t refuse. They’ve been playing for a long time now and lost lots of games, finally, they were able to get a good coach and better players. They qualified to a few games yet, last week, two key players fell ill. Unfortunately, they don’t have enough members to play, they will end up forfeiting, some of them are third years, this is their last chance at advancing or reaching the semi-finals.”

Naruto felt the words shake him up a little but he stood his grounds. “Even so, they can just get any other high shcooler to play with them, we can’t play.”  
“That won’t do,” Shaking his head, the manager said. “I told you they lost ‘key players’ so the people replacing should also be ‘key players’.”

Scoffing, Naruto complained. “If I’m such a key player, why did you refuse to enroll me in today’s game?”

“Because he didn’t want you to miss this. If you played in that game, you’d be too exhausted for this one.” Sasuke was the one to answer him. “He did the same for me.”

Now the blond knew why he wasn’t allowed in the formation. A part of him was irritated that he was removed from an important match for this one, however, another was glad that he wasn’t cut out for being unworthy. Sighing, Naruto put down his bag.

“Fine, since we are already here, there’s no harm in helping them. Sasuke, you’re on board as well.”

The raven haired male wanted to send him a snarl remark but sufficed with a nod. Clapping his hands as if he won the argument, Kakashi directed his players to the locker room, for after all, their truth about being university students would have to stay hidden.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto stretched his arms as a yawn escaped his lips. He waved goodbye to the high school players and walked beside Sasuke. They helped the players win, actually it was a very heated game. Naruto remembered his high school days, his team didn’t have half the fire burned in those players. Maybe if he was in a different school, he would have brought home the cup. Sighing and removing the old regrets from his heart, he looked around him before asking.

“Sasuke, do you know where manager Kakashi went?”

“Drinking. His friend called him.” Sasuke answered.

“Oh… I thought he’d at least wait until we finish.”

“He did, the minute the game was called off, I saw him get in his car and leave.”

Rolling his eyes at their manager’s personality, Naruto frowned. “How would I get home now? I’m not even sure where I am.”

Sasuke looked at him. “He drove you here?”

“He drove me here.” The blond affirmed. “Hmm… let me see if I can get to the nearest train station. I think the trains are still running.”

“The train station is an hour from here, by the time you reach there, the last train would have left.”

Naruto’s eyes blackened in distress. “Damn you, manager! You should have at least dropped me off at the station!”

Suddenly Sasuke stopped and brought out a car’s key, with a press on a button a black sports car flashed red before them. Naruto’s eyes bulged out of their sockets at the expensive vehicle. He couldn’t stop the desire in him to check it out, feeling more curious when the driver’s door opened upwards. Naruto whistled at the masterpiece, he had only seen cars like this in sport shows.

“Get in.”

Stars danced in his eyes and he obliged. The interior was black leather with red strips in the middle, a futuristic design. Naruto sat down, the seat was a little bit hard for his liking, but comfort wasn’t one of the qualification of these sports cars. They drove off in a second and Sasuke put on some thin glasses.

Naruto blinked at the new add. “You wear glasses?”

The Uchiha nodded. “Just when I study or drive.”

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m nearsighted.”

The blond blinked. “Hmm… what does it mean?”

Sasuke explained clearly. “I see objects near me clearly, but distant objects may blur.”

Naruto contemplated those words. “Then how can you play without glasses?”

“It’s not that serious. I can play just fine, but when it gets tiring, I wear contact lenses. However, without glasses I have to focus a lot. In games, I usually focus on playing so it doesn’t matter. But when I study or drive, I focus on the task not my sight.”

Naruto stared at him for a while then with a grin, he complemented. “You look good with it.”

Sasuke was about to swerve at the unexpected complement, but held his feet. If anything, he was a master at foot control. Though a faint bush showed on his face, Sasuke acted as if those words did nothing to him.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Suddenly the atmosphere turned very awkward. Naruto looked at the outside as means to avoid any unnecessary eyes-lock. Whilst Sasuke turned the music on, one of the rock bands he liked was playing. He lowered the sound a little because – since he always liked it loud – the car was vibrating. Naruto found himself relaxing with the somewhat foreign music and the smooth car ride. Looking at the outside, he realized something, he didn’t tell Sasuke where he left. He was about to open his mouth and speak, but the thought of having no one at home bummed him down so he kept quiet.

Sasuke probably didn’t remember to ask him and Naruto decided not to bring it up. Right now, he was in the company of the comfortable Uchiha. No need to think about a lonely house waiting for him. With those thoughts in mind, Naruto allowed the tiredness of the day to wash over him, and without meaning to, he fell asleep in the nice ride.

The Uchiha looked at the sleeping blond and pondered. He’d driven to his house and for a minute had forgotten he was with a guest in his car. Once he parked in his house’s driveway, he remembered the blond. Naruto was snoring loudly enough for him to hear now that the music was off. Sasuke sighed and tapped him on the shoulders. There was nothing to do now, he was too tired and even if Naruto wanted to, he couldn’t go back home. The blond would have to stay the night.

“Naruto, oi, wake up.”

The blond curled away from his hand and groaned. Sasuke rolled his eyes and called again.

“Oi, baaakaaa! Wake up!”

Still, there was no answer. Feeling irritated and weary, Sasuke picked up his cell and dialed a number. A minute later, two butlers were standing before him. He asked them to carry the sleeping blond inside. He carried Naruto’s bag and entered his home. Once inside, his mother came to greet him. She raised a brow at the odd add and Sasuke quickly explained the situation. Uchiha Mikoto was amazed then delighted. Her son has never brought home a friend, except for Hyuuga Neji. She sometimes thought Sasuke was an introvert who disliked human ties, however now that she was presented with this unusual pickle, she brightened up.

Directing the butlers to put their guest in one of the many empty guestrooms, Mikoto asked her son to go and freshen up.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he’s well suited.”

Sasuke wanted to complain that she shouldn’t bother with the blond, but the glint inside her eyes told him that his words would fall on deaf ears.  
As soon as Naruto was placed on the comfortable, soft mattress, his eyes shot open and adrenaline shot to his nerves. He was awake in less than a minute. This wasn’t his home; his bed wasn’t as heavenly as this one. Just when he was about to freak out, he saw a woman with black haired, pale complexion and very kind eyes approach him.

“Naruto-kun, you’re up.” The voice was as cheerful as the smile on her face. “You must be confused.”

The woman signaled the two men beside her to leave and sat beside Naruto on the bed. She pointed to herself and continued.

“My name’s Uchiha Mikoto, I’m Sasuke’s mother. You fell asleep and he brought you here. He didn’t know where you lived.”

Her words brought his memories back and he recalled what went down. Realizing who he was with, Naruto quickly straightened out and bowed. “Sorry for my appearance. Nice to meet you, I’m Uzumaki Naruto, Sasuke’s teammate.”

The blond politely introduced himself, she clapped overjoyed. “Oh, May, what good manners!”

He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “My father was a little strict with manners.”

Mikoto chuckled and stood up. “Well then, Naruto-kun, I’ll leave you to wash up. There’s a bathroom to your right. I had them bring you a clean set of clothes for you to change into. I’m sure you haven’t had dinner yet, so when you’re done, we’d come get you for dinner.”

Naruto bowed to her again and nodded. “Thank you for all your trouble.”

The black haired beauty shook her head. “No trouble at all.”

He found himself bowing until she left the room. The blond sighed and slumped on the bed. He was inside Sasuke’s house, spending the night. This wasn’t one of the scenarios he thought this day would end in, he had expected Sasuke to wake him up and demand his address, not to drive them both straight to his house. A small smile tugged at his lips, even if it wasn’t what he thought, this was a good end to an exhausting day.

Getting up, he walked to said bathroom and started washing up.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto wiped the drool that left his mouth. Actually he was a little bit nervous dinning with Sasuke’s family, being all rich folks and all, but his mother was very nice. She never made him feel anything but comfortable and the food was to die for! Naruto couldn’t even pronounce the names of some of the dishes presented. Yet the taste was magical! He felt like he died and went to heaven. As he ate with happiness, Mikoto chuckled and commented.

“Naruto-kun, here, have some of this.” She pushed one dish to his side.

The blond felt a little embarrassed but didn’t refuse her invitation. “Thank you.”

Sasuke was eating from the other side of the table, watching the exchange between his mother and the blond. He had mixed feelings. When he woke up that day, he didn’t think he’d have a blond Uzumaki dinning with them. However, as he saw pure happiness cross Naruto’s face, he found himself smiling. Maybe breaking the walls for a single night wasn’t something bad. He continued eating in silence, every now and then he’d answer some of his mother’s questions or correct a wrong information said by Naruto.

By the time dinner ended, Sasuke’s mother excused herself and retreated to her room, she asked Naruto to act as if he was home. The blond smiled at her and complied. Sasuke was about to leave to his own room when Naruto stopped him.

“Wait, where are you going?”

“My room.”

“Take me with you.”

Sasuke grimaced. “You have your own room.”

Naruto didn’t want to say he was lonely, his pride didn’t allow him, so he sufficed with. “I’m your guest, you can’t just leave me after we eat, you need to entertain me.”

The Uchiha put his hands over his chest. “Is this also in the ‘good manners’ package you keep speaking about?”

Naruto nodded. “Yep~!”

“...It’s,” Sasuke checked his watch. “Eleven at night. It's true tomorrow is off for me, but I’m tired and I want to sleep. Can entertaining you wait for tomorrow?”

“Let’s sleep together then!” Both were startled with Naruto’s words. The blond blushed when the double meaning sank in his head and he explained sheepishly. “I d-didn’t mean it like that! I meant, you know, when you have a sleepover, you sleep together in the same room!”

Sasuke felt himself getting embarrassed by the other’s embarrassment and he quickly shut it down. “N-NO! You have your room, I have mine, each sleeps in their own rooms!”

Naruto held the other’s hand and refused to let go. “Wait, Sasuke! It will be fun! Come on!”

The Uchiha didn’t even know why he was so against the idea of sharing his room with another, but he just didn’t want to do it. The more Naruto insisted, the more he refused. It was like he was running just because he was being chased. No other reason. Suddenly the pull on his hand stopped and Naruto stood straight, letting go of him.

Blue orbs darkened slowly as Naruto mumbled. “…Fine, if you’re so against it. Good night.”

Sasuke watched the blond walk like a living zombie back to the room that was given to him. He sweat dropped, he recalled the sad look on Naruto’s face that day when he rejected his invite. Tonight as well, he was hardcore on refusing – even though he didn’t have a legit reason. Something pulled at his heartstrings and he called.

“Wait, Naruto,” The blond stopped his movement in a blink of an eye. When azure orbs met his, Sasuke quickly looked away. “You… you can come to my room.”

The moment his lips said those words, life returned to Naruto’s pupils and he jumped on him, grasping the black haired Uchiha in a tight hug. Sasuke didn’t know what to do, the only people who have ever hugged him were his mother, Itachi – when they were kids – and occasionally Neij. Even when he scored, he had this invisible wall that told other players not to even think about touching him, let alone a hug. So to receive one just because he allowed the other in his room… Sasuke had no idea what to do.

Naruto smiled when he felt a nervous pat on his back. The moment he held Sasuke, he felt the other stiffen, however, after a while, he relaxed and returned the hug. Naruto was the first to break free and gave the other a bright grin. Sasuke looked away from him and started walking, Naruto followed.

The room he was taken to wasn’t far from his guestroom. Sasuke’s room was very simple and neat. It had a very big bed, a large closet, a desk and some chairs and a sofa. Naruto looked at the simple and cool layout and smiled. It spoke of Sasuke’s personality. The raven haired male was probably just like his room, cool and collected. The colors blue and black were the main ones. Naruto sat on a chair in the middle of the room and waited for Sasuke to close the door.

“So? Where will I sleep?”

The Uchiha spoke clearly. “I said you can come into my room, I never mentioned sleeping here.”

“What!? What’s the point in being here if you won’t allow me to sleep?”

Sasuke pretended like he didn’t hear that question. “You asked me in, you’re in.”

Puffing his cheek, Naruto’s eyes turned into slits. “Uchiha Sasuke, you’re sneaky.”

“Says the one who bribed his way to our lineup.”

“Hey! It wasn’t a bribe!” Naruto defended his past wrong actions. “It was an exchange, there’s a difference!”  
Sasuke rolled his eyes at this. “Whatever.”

The blond watched Sasuke dim the lights then lay on his bed. He blinked when he pulled the blanket over his head and was about to sleep. Shooting to his side in seconds, Naruto was baffled with Sasuke’s actions.

“You really want to sleep!?”

Showing an eye out, he answered. “Yes.”

“How about me?”

“…”

When Sasuke pulled his blanket over his head again, Naruto pulled it away. “SASUKE!”

“Don’t shout, it’s late. Listen, I’m really tired, my eyes are barely open. Can we discuss this tomorrow?”

The blond felt like Sasuke’s brain was honestly shutting down – he wanted to discuss the topic of sleeping together the next day when they have already slept. Naruto removed his hand from the blanket and allowed the other his peace. However, since Sasuke didn’t tell him to get out, Naruto thought that maybe it was alright for him to be there.

He opened Sasuke’s big closet and searched until he found another set of blankets. He took the fluffiest and laid on the bed. The huge bed had room for both of them. Naruto tried to sleep in a way that won’t get the Uchiha to notice him and be uncomfortable. After all, he didn’t want to wake up in the middle of the night to be kicked out.

Switching off the lights, Naruto allowed his eyes to close. Finally, he felt relaxed and not soon after, he was flying to the land of dreams alongside Sasuke.

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Thank you for reading.


	4. Chapter 4

Sasuke groaned in the middle of the night as he felt something smother him. He tried to ignore it but it reached to a stage where he was gasping for air. Having had enough of enduring, he removed the blanket off his face and was met with drooling tan skin. Blinking in the darkness of his room, he tried to get his fuzzy mind to sober up and recall what went down.

Naruto.

Naruto was what went down.

As if his mind was refreshed, the raven haired male flicked the nightstand’s lampshade on. Dim, warm, orangish light brightened his vision. Sasuke turned around and saw Naruto’s face inches away from his own. He stilled his thumping heart and returned the blond to a more humane position. The way he was lying – on top of Sasuke – wasn’t comfortable for any of them.

The black eyed male watched as Naruto curled on the other side of the bed, giving Sasuke his back. Sasuke exhaled and turned off the light. Not a second later, he felt the blond return to his side. The Uchiha opened the light again. He returned Naruto to other side and closed the light again. When he felt the warm body return to his side for the third time, Sasuke gave up inwardly and decided not to do anything. An evil thought of waking Naruto and kicking him out flashed in his head, but he quickly discarded it. It wasn’t because he felt sympathy towards Naruto, no, he simply didn’t have enough energy for anything. Sasuke decided to fix his own sleeping position so that Naruto would sleep beside him not on top.

The close proximity made him blush slightly. As his heart continued thumping, he thought it was unnatural. Sasuke was trying to return back to sleep but now that he was aware, he couldn’t. Opening his eyes, he unconsciously started tracing Naruto’s features with his eyes. The three whiskers on each cheek ruined the lovely face. Yet somehow, they didn’t go bad with Naruto. It was something special to him. Sasuke told himself to question the blond about them later on.

Naruto smiled in his sleep, startling Sasuke a little, then he mumbled incoherent words. Sasuke felt his body hair stand when he heard something alongside his name. Then his senses returned to normal when Neji’s, Shino’s and Kiba’s names were pronounced after his. Apparently, the blond was dreaming of them playing football. Without Sasuke’s consent, a tan leg was thrown to his midsection, pulling him close. Sasuke stiffened for the second time that night, he tried to remove Naruto’s leg but to no avail.

He surrendered to his fate and tried to fall asleep like that. However, as each one of Naruto’s moves made an impact on him, Sasuke found it very hard to achieve.

It was around eight in the morning when Naruto finally woke up. He stretched and felt very satisfied. His stretches were interrupted when a cushion was thrown on his face. Blinking, Naruto was met with a very exhausted looking Uchiha, Sasuke had a disheveled look and bags under his eyes. Tilting his head to the side, Naruto greeted.

“Morning, Sasuke, what happened to you?”

Sasuke growled at him. “You! You happened to me! Who told you to sleep with me!?”

Naruto had to run from the shower of stuff being thrown at him, before hiding behind the sofa and sheepishly apologizing. “Sorry, but you didn’t tell me not to! Besides, your bed is sooo comfortable!”

His words seemed to be the wrong ones because another set of stuff was thrown.

“Next time, when someone invites you to their home, SLEEP. IN. THE. GUEST. FUCKING.ROOM!!” Sasuke but spat.

“To tell you the truth,” Naruto started sweat-dropping. “I don’t have many friends who have guestrooms. But I take it there would be a second time?”

This time, Naruto had to leave the room because Sasuke was about to throw hard objects, he wasn’t sure of his ability to recover from being hit by a lamp. Getting to his said guestroom, the blond was amazed at seeing another set of clothes prepared for him, he looked at the PJs he was wearing and decided to ask them where they got it from. It was very soft. Determining to take a shower and freshen up, Naruto went to do just that, finally wearing the clothes provided for him.

He felt like he was taking advantage of everything but then again, with the way Sasuke was acting, he probably won’t have another chance to sleepover. So there was no harm in seeing this one to the end. Besides, Sasuke’s mother was very nice. Naruto was sure he would be able to befriend her. A sudden knock on his door took his attention away from his thoughts, Naruto answered.

“Come in.”

A butler walked inside, bowing slightly to him. “Young master Sasuke-sama says you’re expected in the dining room.”

Naruto nodded to the man who left after he delivered his message. Getting ready, he walked out. The blond remembered the way to the dining hall – he had a strong memory after all. However, the minute he entered, he felt a sudden chill run down his spine. The place that had comfort and ease the previous night was engulfed in an air of stress and restraint right now. Naruto looked and at the head of the table was an unknown face. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who the strict looking man was.

Sasuke’s father, Uchiha Fugaku, Naruto had read the name in a newspaper when he was searching about Sasuke – Sakura’s advice. Sasuke was sitting quietly on the left side of his father, his mother on the right side. She signaled Naruto to come and sit next to her son, the blond obliged, bowing to all of them in respect. As he sat down, Sasuke’s father looked him in the eyes and commented.

“Uzumaki Naruto-kun, I hope your stay with us was satisfactory.” A polite yet strong tone echoed from the old man’s mouth.

Naruto felt like he should be very respectful in dealing with Uchiha Fugaku, so he nodded and gave a small smile. “Yes, thank you for your hospitality.”  
“I’m sure you have guessed by now, but formal introductions are a must,” Fugaku said. “I’m Sasuke’s father, Uchiha Fugaku.”

“Uzumaki Naruto, sir.” Naruto returned the gesture even though the other already knew who he was.

After that, the food was served. The blond noticed how everyone waited for Fugaku to start eating before they did so. Everything was different with the presence of the head of the family, that much Naruto realized. The man wasn’t as scary as seemed, but he was intimidating. Perhaps he was raised to be very strict, Naruto was sure, in the eyes of Uchiha Fugaku, life was either white or black, there was no grey and no games. Straight-laced and direct. Someone who he would have a hard time relaxing around.

All his life, he was in the company of free spirited people, true Iruka was a little firm when it came to manners, but he was laid back about everything else. That’s why when he was met with this type of adult, Naruto felt he should be extra careful and not give a bad first impression. He didn’t want Sasuke to be forbidden from seeing him.

The breakfast soon came to an end and Fugaku excused himself from their company. Mikoto stayed for a while then followed after him. When finally, they were alone, Naruto let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Sasuke smirked at him.  
“You held yourself well.” He praised. “Most people get too scared they mess up.”

Naruto looked at him with horrid eyes. “Your father is INTIMIDATING like hell!!”

“I know.”  
“I ran everything in my head a million time before I said it! I kept on thinking what if he doesn’t like me? What if he told you to stay away from me? Or –”  
“My father can’t force me to stay away from you.” Sasuke found himself commenting, interrupting the blond.

Naruto was startled with the odd comment. “Umm… your father is a powerful man, Sasuke, if he decides I’m not a good friend to you, he might not allow us to play together.”

The blond used the noun ‘friend’ even though he wasn’t sure that was their relationship. However, since Sasuke didn’t seem to mind it much, he relaxed.  
“Naruto, I am the one who decides my own relationships, not my father. Please, never think otherwise.”

“So… I shouldn’t care if he doesn’t like me?”

Sasuke sneered. “No, it’s better that he does. Besides, seeing you fidgeting like that was fun.”

The blond playfully shoved Sasuke away from him. “Shut up.”

Sasuke looked at his watch and stood up from the dining table. “Anyhow, let’s get going.”

Following his movement, Naruto tilted his head. “Get going where?”

“I’m driving you home.”

Naruto felt a little sad at being forced to part right then, he shook his head and asked instead. “Wait, this is your day off, right? So is mine so let’s go out!”  
“No.” Sasuke rejected without a second thought. “You might not realize this, but I haven’t slept well because of a certain someone.”

Awkwardly, Naruto expressed his regret. “Sorry, Sasuke, I know you want to sleep, but please… let’s go watch a movie.”

The blond pleaded to him and the Uchiha honestly didn’t want to, he just wanted to drive Naruto to his house, get back to the comfort of his soft bed and sleep the day away. Yet, like being hexed, he complied to the blond’s wishes. Sasuke didn’t know why but when he looked into Naruto’s eyes, he wasn’t able to refuse him anything. Besides, his heart was making that weird thumping sound for a while now. He didn’t know what was wrong with him, but he hoped it wasn’t something that would have him quit football.

“Alright, one movie then you’re going home.”

Naruto cheered from his right. “Sasuke, you’re’ the best!”

The Uchiha’s heart did three thumps, causing him to clutch his chest and put a mind note to make an appointment with his family’s doctor later on.

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To their worst luck, they didn’t find any available seats in the movies they wanted to watch. Sasuke was about to leave when Naruto bought two tickets to a random movie. With lots of persuasion, the black haired male was forced inside. They sat down with popcorn in hand. Sasuke looked all around and the hall was filled with couples, he scowled at the scene. However, when the movie started playing and they passed fifteen minutes, Sasuke cringed. It was a romantic movie, judging by the sex scene that ended with the heroine leaving dramatically.

“Naruto,” Sasuke growled and the blond sweat-dropped.

“Hush, Sasuke, you shouldn’t talk in cinema.” The blond whispered, hoping the other won’t blow up on his face.

“I will kill you.” It was spoken in a low, hushed tone for his ears only.

Naruto started munching on the popcorn, ignoring Sasuke’s killing intent and the chill on his back. Judging from Sasuke’s reaction, he was probably not a fan of romantic movies. Naruto also wasn’t, yet, since he was already present, he should enjoy his stay. He was one to roll with the dice. The cinema was filled with couples giving them the stare. The blond player laughed inwardly, they probably thought they were a couple as well, or why would two grown up men attend a romantic movie together?

The movie continued and the actors played their pieces. Naruto was pulled to the acting and was engrossed in it, suddenly, he felt something on his shoulder. Looking, he saw Sasuke’s head lying on said shoulder. Naruto blinked but didn’t move. The raven haired male was probably saying the truth when he told him he hadn’t slept well. The blue eyed player tried to think of what he did but nothing came to mind. All he could remember was that he slept like a log, it was the best sleep he had in years. Yet apparently, it wasn’t the same for his companion.

As he watched Sasuke sleep, he felt more guilt build up inside of him. Maybe he shouldn’t have slept with him. Naruto made a little promise to himself, ‘the next time he sleeps over, he’d obediently sleep in the guestroom’. He then scooched closer to Sasuke to give him more support for his head, the people who had doubts about their relationship probably had confirmation now. Naruto coughed slightly and pretended that his cheeks weren’t burning. Maybe coming here and watching a romantic movie with a sleepy Sasuke wasn’t the best of ideas, the blond pondered as the movie continued.

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Sasuke pulled in front of Naruto’s apartment complex and gestured the blond to step out. Naruto scowled, he didn’t want the day to end just yet, but at the same time, he knew how tired his ‘friend’ was. After Sasuke’s little nap in the movies, the blond player realized the reality of Sasuke’s situation. That’s why he didn’t pester him about having lunch or getting something to drink together. However, he wanted to be with the black haired male a little bit longer. Taking a deep breath, he honestly expressed him feelings.

“Sasuke, the last time I invited you to my apartment, you refused me. I hope you won’t do it again,” When Sasuke’s mouth opened for him to speak, Naruto continued hurriedly. “I know you’re tired, but I want you to humor me for half an hour maybe…?”

The Uchiha took a minute to think then nodded. “Half an hour.”

“Half an hour!” Naruto confirmed, eyes glowing, he didn’t think his pathetic plea would be appeased.

Sasuke parked his car in the parking lot and followed behind the skipping blond. They took the elevator to the tenth floor. Sasuke looked at the apartment complex with keen eyes. Unintentionally he was studying the old building, he’d seen apartment complexes before – Neji owned a condo in an apartment complex. But, Neji’s condo and this place were totally different. Sasuke looked at the ray of sunshine leading his way and suddenly, the shabby apartments he was walking past looked like rosy houses out of a fairytale book.

The black eyed male shook his head at the weird analogy and watched as they stopped beside a door. Naruto quickly got the keys from the pocket of his sport’s bag and let them in. unlike the outside, the apartment had a tidy and a very nice style. Sasuke felt relaxed the minute he stepped in. Taking his shoes off and slipping on the slippers Naruto provided, Sasuke excused himself to intrude.

Naruto smiled as he led the way to his room, he blabbered about how Sasuke should make himself comfortable, in which the other simply nodded to. Yet the minute they were about to enter the room, Naruto stopped Sasuke and asked him to wait five minutes before entering. The black eyed player raised a brow but did as told. He heard ruckus come from the inside and quickly guessed what the other was doing – cleaning up. After exactly five minute, he barged in, startled azure orbs looked at him.

Sasuke caught him holding a worn-out football in one hand and a broom in the other. He rolled his eyes when Naruto quickly hid them behind his form.  
“S-Sasuke! Wait until I tell you to come in!” Naruto but squealed in embarrassment.

“You said five minutes, I gave you five minutes.”

“Don’t take everything I say so literally!”

Shrugging, the Uchiha sat on the soft mattress. “You don’t need to clean up for me, I don’t mind your messiness.”

Naruto could see the smirk at the end of those words and his embarrassment doubled. He quickly hid his broom and put the football on his desk. Feeling like the best thing to do was run away, he excused himself and went to the kitchen – with the notion that he’s bringing some refreshment. Ten minutes later, he was serving the raven haired male a soft drink. Sasuke took it with a nod of thanks. Naruto sat on the chair of his desk and said.

“Sasuke, so what do you think of my home?”

“It’s small.” Sasuke didn’t even hesitate.

The quick answer caused Naruto to cringe. “Yes, it’s smaller than your house, our fricking field is smaller than your house! So what else? Do you dislike it?”  
The raven haired male sipped his coke calmly, unfazed with Naruto’s sarcasm. “I didn’t say that, it’s… comfortable.”

Naruto felt like that was how Sasuke’s complement went. You would never know if it was meant to make you happy or cause you to lash out. Sighing inwardly, he nodded and smiled a thanks. They stayed in silence afterwards, main reason; Naruto inability to entertain his guest. It had been ages since the blond last had someone visit to hang out. Even now, it was something out of the spur of the moment, he didn’t plan this. Yet, looking at Sasuke in his bed, he couldn’t stop the butterflies from playing in his stomach.

The young Uchiha’s profile was really handsome, Naruto thought. His eyes weren’t big, but they were sharp and attractive. His complexion was ungodly pale, however, it fit perfectly with his dark hair and eyes. The sharp, well demarcated chin alongside his straight, pointy nose, made the perfect profile for Sasuke.  
“Stop staring.”

Naruto was startled when black orbs caught his own, he looked away, a blush visible on his face. “D-Don’t flatter yourself!”

Sasuke smirked as he stretched his arms on Naruto’s bed. “Well I don’t blame you, I’m a handsome guy. I’ve had people confessing their undying love to me since I was in kindergarten, but let me tell you something… I don’t go for blonds.”

Naruto felt his blush deepen, but his head was warming up with a little bit irritation mixed with his embarrassment. Still he refused to yield to the strange personality of Uchiha Sasuke.

“You really have a huge ego, Uchiha. Who said anything about confessing to you? FYI, I don’t think you’re that handsome – I’ve seen better. Besides, the idea of dating you isn’t appealing one bit!”

“That blush could have fooled me.”

Naruto felt the butterflies in his stomach fly erratically in all directions with Sasuke’s words, he quickly thought an excuse. “It’s hot in here, I flush easily in the heat.”

“I’m paler than you and I’m just fine.” The Uchiha closed that route for him. “Admit it, you have the hots for me, Uzumaki.”

Now, Naruto was simply getting annoyed. The person before him was very sure he had feelings for him, as if it was only natural that Naruto does, needless to say, that idea didn’t sit well with the blond. With annoyed blue eyes, Naruto enquired.

“What makes you so sure?”

Sasuke crossed his legs and started counting on his hands. “You asked me to your house, there is no one here, we came directly to your room – in which you insisted on cleaning it – and your constant staring at me. If that doesn’t scream ‘I LIKE YOU’, I don’t know what does.”

The blond walked to his bed, held his pillow and smacked the Uchiha right on the face – Sasuke gracefully was able to avoid a tragic accident with ruffled locks.

“Sasuke, you’re really arrogant! I invited you home because it’s what FRIENDS do! I had you stay in my room because it’s comfortable in here, we can get loud and no one will bother us! We’re alone because Iruka’s on a business trip, but he’s coming tomorrow! And I WASN’T STARING!!!” Naruto spat every sentence loud and clear for Sasuke’s ears to hear, trying to mask his embarrassment.

Sasuke stuck his tongue out and replied with a teasing smile. “What do you mean get loud? Your guardian is coming tomorrow and you want us to get loud, oh Naruto, dirty, dirty, dirty~!”

Naruto couldn’t hold it in anymore and jumped on the teasing male. He wanted to smother Sasuke to oblivion and stop him from sniggering like that. It was obvious he was being played, Naruto’s heated nerves couldn’t accept it. However, sadly, his plan backfired; because when he made contact with Sasuke, the blond was easily flipped onto his back, he could only wrestle weakly. Sasuke was very strong, his grip was toxic! Naruto changed tactics and started tickling Sasuke’s sides, to his delight though, the sound of laughter reached his ears. He perked up and his eyes brightened, Sasuke’s laugh was magical~!

The azure eyed player felt his heart thump a little bit louder than usual. His tan hands stopped momentarily when Sasuke was asking for a break for him to catch his breath. The pale complexion was now tinged bright pink, the color matched Sasuke perfectly, Naruto unconsciously got closer. His face was near Sasuke’s, his hand removed a stray lock off Sasuke’s sweaty forehead. The raven haired male looked up at this and saw Naruto looking at him with an unusual gaze. Their positions were switched for the second time.

Sasuke felt his own heart start beating faster, Naruto got closer and put both of his hands on each side of Sasuke, supporting his weight on his forearms. Sasuke felt the other’s body cradle his, his legs were on either side of Naruto, there was a hidden fire in those cerulean orbs… a fire that lit something in him. Without much thought, he circled his legs around Naruto, hooking them and drawing him closer, his arms found their way to Naruto’s neck and pulled him down.

In an instant, their lips met. They didn’t know who initiated it exactly, both had an equal part in the equation. At first, it was simply a tender touching of lips, then Sasuke’s tongue licked Naruto’s lips and asked for permission to intrude inside, Naruto opened his mouth and the two tongues met. In an instant, passion broke free. They lost themselves in the heated feeling. Naruto grabbed Sasuke’s face in both hands and kissed the life out of him. Sasuke wasn’t one to take anything lying down, so he immersed his hands in Naruto’s hair with an agenda to satisfy him.

The pale, long fingers rubbing his scalp made little tingles of happiness spark in Naruto’s head. He closed his eyes already losing his self-control. Kissing wasn’t enough, he wanted more, he wanted to feel more, to touch more, his hungry hands started roaming Sasuke’s chest and when he was about to uncover hidden desires, the door was suddenly slammed shut on his face.

Sasuke abruptly stopped their kiss and pushed the blond off of him. Straightening his hair, he said in a voice that made everything in Naruto buzz.

“Hold your horses, champ. This is as far as you will go.”

Naruto felt his senses return with the wake-up call. His face flushed bright red when he replayed what they just did, quickly stumbling off his bed, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, not knowing what emotions he should show.

“Umm… I… don’t really know what to say.”

Sasuke on the other hand laid back and got comfortable. “You don’t need to say anything; I will borrow your bed for a few hours. Wake me up when the clock hits six.”

With that, the raven haired male closed his eyes and surrendered to the tiredness of the flesh. Naruto looked at him and blinked. They had just made out, right? How could Sasuke simply sleep like nothing had happened? Was he too uptight or was Sasuke too causal about affection?

Naruto blinked a few more times and questioned himself further, when nothing but the cool breathing of Sasuke reached his ears, he exhaled. Deciding to not overthink and simply go with the flow, he pulled Sasuke’s slippers off and covered him with a light blanket. Tiptoeing out of the room, Naruto closed the door quietly as not to disturb him and bid him a sleep with happy dreams.

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Naruto put down the dishes he prepared – instant noodles with salad – and waited for the raven haired male to take his seat. Sasuke had just woken up and Naruto directed him to the bathroom. Whilst the Uchiha slept, the blond went and got him a toothbrush. Naruto watched as Sasuke took a seat before him, the white shirt he wore had three buttons loose, exposing pale skin, Naruto blushed lightly and looked away.

“How did you sleep?”

“…You need to get a new bed. It’s too hard.” Sasuke commented, remembering the bad sleeping experience.

“Shut up, your bed is just too soft. This is how we commoners sleep.”

“Hn.”

They started eating, Naruto had thought Sasuke would object to the instant noodles, but unexpectedly, he gulped the carbohydrates down without a complaint. The blond didn’t know how to open up the topic of their earlier rendezvous, but he was sure he needed to talk about it. After all, he wasn’t someone who went around kissing anyone.

“Umm… Sasuke –”

“We don’t need to talk about it. It was something we did in the heat of the moment. I teased you a little and we ended up making out, don’t stress it.”  
Naruto frowned, the way the other was going on about this wasn’t right. “No, I disagree, I won’t kiss you just because you teased me.”

“Then what?” Sasuke pointed the chopsticks at him and asked with a raised brow. “Are you saying you like me now?”

The blond contemplated and gave an honest opinion. “I don’t know, but I don’t want you to shut it down like that. What’s wrong with overthinking it a little?”  
Sasuke continued eating. “A: we don’t have time. B: even if you like me, I don’t like you. We can’t date. End of story.”

“So you kiss back anyone who kisses you?” Naruto questioned.

Sasuke took a little bit more time answering this than the previous question. “…No.”

“Then what? What’s your reason for kissing me back?”

“I have no reason; I went with the flow.”

Naruto rolled his eyes. “Sasuke, you’re contradicting yourself. You say you don’t kiss anybody but you’re willing to go with the flow? This is insane, at least admit you have some sort of attraction towards me.”

The black eyed male commented. “What would you do with my attraction? Naruto, the reason why I want to shut this down is because I don’t want to date right now. In this life, you can come across people whom you like or have a little crush on, but that doesn’t mean you should start a relationship with all of ‘em.”

“I didn’t tell you to start one with me, I’m perfectly happy with where we are, I just don’t want you to pretend there’s no attraction between us. I know you feel what I feel.”

Sasuke put down his chopstick and stood up. “Thanks for the meal.”

Naruto stood up and followed him. “Hey, we’re not done talking!”

“I am. I already made my opinion clear.”

“Sasuke, you can’t run from this.”

The raven haired male looked at him and put on his shoes and headed to the door. “Watch me.”

As Sasuke was about to walk out the apartment, the door was opened, he moved at the right time as not to be hit in the face. Naruto looked at the intruder and his eyes smiled before his lips.

“Iruka! You’re home!”

Sasuke had to move away from Naruto’s way as he jumped on the older man and hugged him to death. The Uchiha was startled at the bold show of affection. He looked at the burnet male up and down and made a profile note of him. Iruka was probably in his forties, he was a little bit taller than Naruto and had brown hair and eyes. His attire was causal, which told Sasuke that whatever the other did for work wasn’t a desk job. His wandering eyes were caught by Iruka’s and the older man gave him a tender smile, Sasuke looked away.

When Naruto watched this, he quickly introduced cheerfully. “Iruka, this is my friend, Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke, this is Iruka, my father.”

“Oh, so you’re the infamous Sasuke. Nice to meet you, I have heard a lot about you.”

Iruka extended his hand to shake the younger male’s, Sasuke accepted it with a nod. His eyes wandered over to Naruto who argued that he wasn’t talking about Sasuke as much as Iruka had implied. Iruka ignored him and refuted about the amount of stories he’d shower him about Sasuke’s awesomeness in playing football.

“You know,” Iruka started pointing to his son. “He’s one of your fans.”

Naruto crossed his arms and buffed his cheeks. “Hey! Who are you calling a fan!?”

Iruka smiled and ruffled his son’s hair. “Sasuke-kun, I hope you continue being good friends with Naruto. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have many friends who can tolerate him.”

Sasuke was silent throughout this whole conversation, yet now he looked the blond with a puzzled look. Naruto avoided his eyes.

“A-Anyway, Iruka, go in, I’m sure you’re tired. Sasuke was about to leave.”

Iruka blinked. “Eh? So soon? How about dinner?”

“We already ate!” Naruto objected, afraid his father would expose more of his embarrassing side to Sasuke.

“Oh I hope it’s not cup noodles again? Naruto those things hurt your health, you need to eat healthy food.”

“Yeah, yeah, just go in for now!”

Having been pushed away so obviously, Iruka rolled his eyes and walked inside, leaving the two males together. He shouted for Sasuke to come again, before he disappeared inside his room. Naruto looked the black haired male in the face then clarified with a little blush.

“Just so you know, Iruka is exaggerating things. I like your play, but I’m not your fan or anything like that.”

Sasuke was about to tease him but when a little recap happened in his head of the result of his previous teasing, he stopped and simply nodded. “Don’t sweat it. I need to leave now.”

Naruto allowed him out, however, he walked beside him. Sasuke blinked, Naruto quickly explained. “I’ll walk you to the car.”

“No need. I’m not a girl.”

“Consider me not wanting to part with you just yet.” Naruto ginned with those words.

Sasuke wanted to stop him but somehow, it was getting exhausting trying to push the blond away, so he just allowed him his comfort. The way to his car wasn’t that far anyways.

“Your father is young.”

Naruto mused. “Yeah, unfortunately, he didn’t marry. When I was young, I thought it was because of me, you know I was a little devil, so I ran away from home. I thought if I wasn’t there, then Iruka could build his own family and be happy. You know what he did when he found me?”

Sasuke was all ears. “What?”

“He beat the hell out of me!” Naruto laughed. “I have never seen Iruka get that angry. I cried the whole night to sleep, the next day, my neighbor told me how scared Iruka was when I was gone. That’s when I realized how precious I am to him. You know, Iruka honestly thinks of me as his son, what was I thinking about when I ran away? Would a son run away from his father? From that day onward, I made sure not to hurt him like that ever again.”

The raven haired male felt like he was being shared a little bit too much information. He stopped walking and looked the blond straight in the eyes. “Naruto, you should stop telling me intimate things.”

“No, I won’t.” Naruto instantly answered. He walked closer to him and maintained their locked eyes. “I want you to know more about me, and I want to know more about you, Sasuke. So whatever walls you’re trying to build, make sure I will break them down.”

Sasuke felt a strange feeling well up inside of him at those words, he smirked. “Uzumaki, for someone who hasn’t even confessed, you’re really bold.”  
Naruto blushed when Sasuke got a little bit closer than his comfort. He felt his personal space get invaded. A part of him wanted to take a step backwards, but how would it look if he – the one pursuing – acted like that? So Naruto stayed put. Right now, Sasuke’s breath was brushing his cheeks.

“You should know,” the soft whisper sent tingles down Naruto’s spine. “It won’t be easy, I’m a very hard catch.”

Naruto leaned in and was about to kiss Sasuke but his lips met thin ear. He opened his eyes and blinked at the sound of engine starting. He saw Sasuke wave at him from the driver’s seat. Naruto rolled his eyes at the tease and waved back. He watched the car move away from his apartment complex, he couldn’t shake off the feeling that he was given the green light on his hunt.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neji swallowed the cold ice-tea as a yawn escaped his mouth. His lilac orbs were highlighted by the black circles around them, he was pulling a lot of all-nighters lately that his bones hurt. When he tried to rest, he’d recall the exams that were nearing and he’d get back to studying. The mid-semester exams were very hard to pass; most of his colleagues were shutting themselves in the library studying like there was no tomorrow, the long haired player sighed and flipped the paper in front of him. Aside from his exams, he was responsible for making the practice schedule ready for his players. Actually, if Gaara wasn’t with him taking care of him, Neji would have broken down a long time ago. From the corner of his eyes he gave a warm smile to the redhead. Gaara was beside him quietly sipping on his coffee and playing on his tablet.

Neji looked at his relaxed form and sighed another time. “Some people have it so easy.”

Gaara’s ears perked up at this and he looked at him. “I told you to split the workload with me, you refused.”

“It’s my job as captain to do it, not yours.” Neji stated calmly, “Besides, we are studying different majors, so you can’t help me with my studies.”  
“Then how about I come over today and give you a relaxing massage?” Gaara’s face was as stoic as ever, however, Neji was able to distinguish the little changes in his tone of voice.

Smiling at the gentle gesture, he brushed their hands together. Gaara’s massages were always soothing to his muscles, he first discovered their effect after a game in which Gaara offered him a massage, Neji took him on his offer and for the next hour, he was flying in heaven. The redhead had magical fingers, if Neji didn’t know any better, he would have told him to change majors. In all truth, Neji just wanted to take Gaara and leave all those responsibilities behind, to disappear in a relaxing vacation – then it hit him.

With sparkling eyes, he chirped to his companion. “Gaara, let’s go on a vacation! Let’s go to Hawaii!”

“…Hawaii?”

“Yes!”

“We have different days off.” Gaara sadly rained on his parade.

Neji shook his head as he pleaded. “Not now, on our annual break. The football season would have ended by then and God knows I need a breather.”  
“You’re talking about five months from now, Neji. Kind of an early plan, don’t you think?”

Shaking his brunet locks again, the captain explained. “No, it’s never too early to plan a vacation. So, what do you say? Will you come with me?”

Gaara returned to the tap he was tapping and nodded. “Without a second thought.”

A big, warm smile plastered onto Neji’s face, he secretly thanked God for giving him the redhead. Yet before he could voice his sentiments, a blur of yellow and orange flashed in front of him. On the empty seat to his right sat none other than Uzumaki Naruto. The blond player had a panicked look on his face, he was sweating vigorously and acted as if it was doomsday. Neji blinked at the freaked blond and quirked a brow. They were sitting on the cafeteria of his medical faculty, if memory served him right, Naruto’s faculty was on the other side of the university. So what would make the blond come all the way here?

“Naruto-kun?” Neji started, tone soothing with a little bit of worry. “Is everything alright?”

“Senpai! I need your help!” Naruto spoke in between gasps. “I did something to Sasuke and he’s coming to get me! Please, tell me what to do to calm him down!”

The worry on the tired brunet’s tone intensified a degree, and he questioned. “Oh my, what did you do?”

Naruto looked right and left before he took something out of his pocket, the broken screen of Sasuke’s cell phone was presented to the two of them, Gaara and Neji ‘oh’ed at the view.

“How did this happen?” Gaara was the first to ask.

“It was an accident; I was talking to him but he was tapping on his phone, ignoring me… I got a little bit annoyed and –” he gestured to the smashed screen. “accidentally hit his hand, the phone fell down and the screen broke. I tried to apologize but he was furious, so I unconsciously took off, help me, senpai!”  
Neji inspected the phone and couldn’t stop a laugh from breaking out. “Naruto-kun, Sasuke is probably more pissed now that you’ve bolted off with his phone.”

“I knoooow!!” Naruto whined, “I panicked and didn’t know what to do. He was about to hit me so I just ran, please, senpai, tell me how to handle this!”  
Putting a hand under his chin, Neji tried to think of a way to get Naruto out of his little pickle. “Hmm… for starters, find him and return his phone. Say you’ll pay for the repairs and apologize again. Sasuke is a reasonable person, he’d forgive you. Besides, it’s not that big of a deal if the phone’s not damaged.”  
Naruto sweat dropped, fidgeting and not meeting the other’s eye. “I’m not too sure about that…”

“Naruto-kun, tell me the whole truth, what did you really do?” The brunet asked seriously upon Naruto’s change of attitude.

“Umm…”  
Twitching, Naruto wasn’t too sure of what to say. A part of him wanted to tell the whole truth, but the other part was afraid of the embarrassment he’d feel.  
As he saw the blond struggle, Neji encouraged. “I can only help if I know.”

“There was a little strap hung on the phone, in the shape of a red pearl to be exact,” The blond decided to talk. “When the phone fell, I accidentally stepped on it and it cracked in the middle,” To demonstrate this, Naruto took out the cracked pearl from his other pocket. “I told him I would pay for it, but Sasuke was really pissed, I don’t know what’s wrong, it’s just a phone strap.”

Neji eyed the red jewel and sighed, everything made sense now. He smiled kindly to Naruto and tried to explain in a clear manner. “It was a birthday gift from Itachi, his big brother. It holds a precious memory to Sasuke, he always used it with different phones. I’m not familiar with the whole story, but Sasuke once said that it was won for him in a festival they both attended. So, Naruto-kun, it’s not ‘just a phone strap’, it’s ‘an unreplaceable gift’.”

Naruto’s face fell at that moment and he quickly stood up, excused himself and ran off. The two were made to look at his disappearing back. Gaara returned back to his game and questioned.

“Where do you think he went?”

“Probably to make peace with Sasuke.”

“Hmm, how nice.”

Neji simply nodded and returned to his own stresses before the ball of sunshine named Naruto barged in, oh how much did he wish to trade places with someone else right now, the brunet sighed and started reading.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto’s brain was a mess. He felt really bad about what he did, he was inwardly loathing himself. Never would he have guessed the pearl had such meaning. The thing was, when Sasuke was pissed at him, he said some things that he wished he’d be able to take back now. But truth was he couldn’t, Naruto fidgeted as he looked at the broken pearl that he tried to fix and sighed. His attempt was poor, he did his best, but it still didn’t look as it used to. With a heavy heart, Naruto made his way into the locker-room area. He couldn’t see anyone, but he was told – when he asked his teammates about Sasuke’s whereabouts – that he was inside. His heart beat loudly as Sasuke’s silhouette came into his viewfinder. The blond stilled his anxiety and with all his might, bowed in front of the male.

“Sasuke, I’m very sorry!”

The black haired male turned with cold eyes at the direction of the voice. He looked at Naruto’s bowed form and simply closed his locker. When Naruto felt there was no reply, he raised his head and stood straight. Walking with soft steps, he continued singing his piece.

“I know now why you were mad, like I said I will fix your phone for you… and for the red pearl…” Naruto ruffled his pocket and got out the broken jewelry. It had been wrapped protectively with some kind of transparent paper. The shimmering of it was still present, alongside the crack that extended to all sides. The covering wasn’t all that pretty but you could see how hard it was done. Naruto extended the broken pearl to Sasuke then commented.

“I tried my best to fix it, I know it’s something dear to you, so I hope you can forgive me.”

Sasuke took the red pearl and looked at it. He could remember the time when Itachi bought it for him, he was still in middle school, a lot of time had passed since then. Sasuke hadn’t meant to hold onto the piece of jewelry as much as he did, but before he knew it, it was a permanent item in his life. Maybe the idiot child in him thought it was connecting him to Itachi, a beautiful memory of when they were happily acting like loving brothers. But the truth was that it was his wishful thinking. Itachi was nowhere to be found, his family was already broken and the pearl meant nothing. He should already learn to wake up and throw away useless connections. Sasuke returned the pearl to Naruto’s hands.

“Keep it or throw it, it doesn’t matter anymore.”

Naruto knotted his brows and held Sasuke’s elbow, stopping him from leaving. “Now, wait a minute, what is that supposed to mean? Neji-senpai said you held onto this for a long time, why are you acting like it’s worthless?”

“Because it is. I was a fool to keep it, Itachi probably has forgotten all about it. Maybe you breaking it was a blessing in disguise.”

The blond remained quiet and let go of Sasuke’s hand, Sasuke walked out of the locker room, not even sparing a look behind him. Naruto looked at the peal and returned it to his pocket. It was something precious to Sasuke, whatever reason he conjured up for dismissing that, Naruto wouldn’t accept it. With that notion in mind, he decided to hold on to the gem and treat it with as much care as Sasuke did.

Naruto needed to get back to class, so quickly he returned to his faculty. As he approached the door to his hall, a hand stopped his advancement. He blinked and was met with sparkling jade eyes. Naruto tried to offer a small smile to his senpai, even though inside he wasn’t feel all that jolly.

“Senpai, what are you doing here?” He enquired, a little startled with her presence.

The girl was obviously excited, she brought out her cell phone and showed Naruto a photo. The blond sweat dropped when he saw it. It was a photo of him and Sasuke eating ramen together, taken from a nearby table. He knew exactly well what the girl wanted to talk about.

“Naruto!” Sakura started already breathing heavily. “How did you become friends with Sasuke-kun?!”

Taking a step back, he held his hands trying to ease her. “Sakura-senpai, please calm down. It just happened, one thing led to another and we clicked. Besides, it’s illegal to take pictures of people without their knowledge.”

“All’s well in love and war~” She shrugged his warning.

“I don’t think that’s right –”

“Nonsense, anyhow, tell me how is Sasuke-kun up close? I bet he’s awesome! Oh my God, Naruto! I can’t believe you went out with him to eat! You know what I’d do to have that happen!?”

The blond sweat-dropped more, thinking of what Sakura would do if she knew they’d already kissed. A faint blush showed on his face with the distant memory and he shook his head. When he saw a couple other students enter the big hall, he returned to reality.

“Senpai, I need to go in now, the lecture is about to start.”

At his remark, she glanced at the door behind her and contemplated. “No, you’re ditching~!”

“Huh? Why?”

“I need all the information you got from dinning with Sasuke-kun, I can’t wait until you’re done with class!”

Without his agreement, Naruto was dragged by the beautiful – and strangely enough strong – female to the outside of their faculty. He sighed and hoped his attendance record could withstand missing one lecture.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Okay, everyone, take a look at the new training schedule,” Kakashi spoke through tired eyes. “I have been observing your development lately and I’m afraid it’s not satisfactory. We were barely able to win our last game. So…” He looked at his players and his eyes got serious. “If you can’t handle this new training schedule, you’ll be dismissed from the team.”

In less than a second, the atmosphere turned eerie. Kakashi was a laid back manger, but when he got serious, he was very hard to appease. All of them knew he wasn’t joking; he’d drop any player he redeems useless in the blink of an eye. Amongst the stressed players, Naruto stood with excited eyes. He examined the new training regime and was momentarily astonished that he was paired with Sasuke. His heart moved a little but still he had to ask.

Raising a hand to question, “Are we training in a set of two?”

“Yes, Naruto,” Neji was the one to answer him. “Each of you was placed with the best match in mind, manger Kakashi thinks it’s best to train like that. For example, Naruto, you and Sasuke are polar opposite in your playing style, the way you control the ball, the way you attack, the time you need to pass the ball and the dribbling style, everything is different. Of course, you have your similarities, but the difference is vast; that’s why by matching you together, you’d be able to learn from one another and possibility strengthen your weak points.”

“I disagree.” Sasuke’s voice came from the shadows, he was in the background leaning on a wall. “If our styles are different, it’d be too hard to learn anything. His way of thinking and mine won’t collide, we might do each other more harm than good.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Sasuke.” Kakashi stepped in, defending his training schedule. “Let me put it this way, when you face a foreign team, what do you do first?”

“Study their play.” The raven haired player answered without hesitation.

“Why?”

“Because I need to know their weakness.”

The manager nodded, “Yes, you need to know their weakness and use it to win. They would have different styles than yours, and you will study it so you can top it, which will add to the things you don’t know. In football, you need to improve all the time, you need to encounter new teams, beat stronger players and gain experience. When you learn of other teams’ weakness, you will be more careful not to fall for them. There are two ways in this life to get knowledge, either by trial and error or by observing others. That’s why I placed you all in teams of two. I want you to learn from your counterparts. Naruto-kun,” Kakashi looked at the blond. “When you play, you tend to focus on maneuvering a lot, you play mind games and confuse your opponent, that in itself is fine, but you lack enough concentration in the defense area. You’re a good attacker, however, when the ball is with you, you have a hard time defending it.”

The blond sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. He was well aware of that and was trying his hardest not to show it, yet his manager’s eyes were extremely sharp, he couldn’t let anything pass him by. Kakashi looked back at the Uchiha and continued.

“While you, Sasuke, have a solid form in defending the ball, it’s rare that it gets stolen from you. You pass in the right time and you don’t overthink your decisions. However, you rely too much on the tactics and techniques you mastered in training. It works, but once the other team gets used to it, it becomes predictable. You need to use mind games and update your maneuvers a little. To put it simply, you need to learn from Naruto new tricks and Naruto needs to learn how to defend from you. There are also other aspects I highlighted in both your schedules, so Sasuke, there’s no such thing as you won’t benefit. I made this decision to benefit all of you. Make sure to get the best out of this experience, because if not, you’re out.”

Everyone was quiet this time around, Kakashi’s words silenced any further objections any had in their minds. Kakashi asked if there were any other questions, when no one answered, he walked out and ordered his players to follow. The field was divided into parts – they had twenty-two players, eleven regular and eleven substitutes – eleven parts to be exact. Each team had a part where they were told to practice in. Naruto looked at the green grass and the schedule at hand. Then his eyes wandered to the stoic looking Uchiha who was twirling a ball on his finger. Naruto walked to him and said.

“Sasuke, did you mean it in there? You think it’s pointless that we are matched together?” He didn’t want to show hurt, but his feelings were a little bit affected. When he saw his name alongside Sasuke’s, he was happy as to train together, yet knowing the other didn’t feel the same put a sour taste on his happiness.

Sasuke stopped playing with the ball and answered. “I don’t think we will benefit from one another. Our styles are too different. Kakashi’s words might be true for people who have a similar or somewhat closer style to each other, but not us, Naruto, we’re polar opposites.”

“But that doesn’t mean we won’t play well together.”

“I didn’t say we can’t play, I said we won’t learn.”

Naruto scowled. “It’s the same thing, Sasuke, what manager wants us to do in the end of the day is to improve our play. If we can play perfectly well together, then it means we learned enough from each other to co-play.”

“Naruto, what I’m saying and what you’re saying are two totally different topics.”

“No, they’re not, they’re the same. The conclusion is what matters. Anyway, let’s start practicing, I’m sure you will see what I mean when we play.”

Sasuke looked at the schedule keenly and sighed. He wasn’t one hundred percent convinced, however, there was nothing he could do. After all, he didn’t want to be kicked out.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Sasuke, Naruto, it’s time to go!” Neji called from above the field, however it fell on deaf ears.

The two players were too engrossed in their training to pay him any mind. Rolling his eyes at them, he yawned and started walking away. Gaara on his side, toed.

“You’re not going to stop them?”

“No use, they will continue like this… let them play until lights out.”

The redhead nodded and followed Neji. On the other side of the court, Naruto panted as he tried to take the ball from Sasuke’s hard grip. It’s been around four hours since they started training. From the get go he was able to see how hard it would be to beat Sasuke. They were following the schedule for a while, but then each wanted to score against the other. Naruto couldn’t forget the defeat he had at Sasuke’s house, so instead of learning from him, he was doing all his best to beat him… defeating the goal of combining them together.

Sasuke on the other hand, wasn’t too fond of Naruto’s excessive attacks. It was like the blond was a hungry hyena and he was holding his meat. Naruto was too fierce, yet he didn’t dislike this quality. Because it lit a fire within him and he was defending like crazy and attacking to shoot. They panted as sweat drenched them. Sasuke felt the field around them get empty and quiet. He was sure that he and Naruto were probably the only two left. Yet still, he didn’t want to leave. Strangely enough, he was enjoying himself… a little too much actually.

Within a second of distraction, Naruto was able to steal the ball from his feet. Quickly running to the opposite goal, the blond was successful in avoiding Sasuke’s tackle. The raven haired Uchiha returned to his pace and chased Naruto again, he was faster than the blond, yet Naruto had more stamina than he did; causing him to be able to evade Sasuke’s other failed attempt to get his ball back. Finally, Naruto was free to score, he kicked the ball and fortunately, it entered the wide net.

Jumping in victory, the blond grinned bearing his teeth. “Yes! There, Sasuke! It’s 3-4! My win!”

Sasuke frowned as he walked towards the blond. “No so soon, we have another match –”

Before he finished his sentence, the lights went off and the field got dark. They looked at each other then Naruto laughed aloud.

“I guess we’ll take a raincheck on that.”

“Hn.”

They headed to the locker room to freshen up and get their things to leave. Naruto checked the time after they finished showering and it read eleven at night, he whistled. They were really out of this world, not paying attention to anything. He tied his shoelace and hung his bag on his shoulder. The blond yawned as he waited for Sasuke to come out. The cold night’s air hit his body and he shivered.

“You should have just gone home.”

Smiling at the cold tone, Naruto shook his head. “I wanted to walk together.”

“How are you going home?”

Naruto contemplated the answer and shrugged. “I might call Iruka to come get me. No train is running so late, you know.”

“I can drive you.” Sasuke offered absentmindedly.

The blond smiled warmly but shook his head. “I’m dead tired so I know you are too. If you drove me, you’d be too exhausted to drive back home.”

Sasuke looked at the starry skies then softly mumbled. “…I can just spend the night.”

Naruto felt his eyes bulge out of their sockets. He gulped then stopped his horses. “DRIVE ME! Please, DRIVE ME! I want you to DRIVE ME!”

Sasuke looked away and continued walking. “But I don’t want to be a bother, besides, your bed is small and hard.”

Catching up to him, Naruto grinned. “Don’t worry, I’ll sleep on the futon, you can take the bed!” He didn’t know what to say to his hard bed comment so he ignored it.

“Hmm… I don’t know.”

Naruto held Sasuke’s pale hand and stopped his movement. With eyes that matched the raging seas, he softly invited. “Sasuke, please stay the night.”

A small smile tugged on Sasuke’s lips and he turned around. “Let’s go.”

Like a dog being asked on a walk, Naruto skipped behind the raven haired Uchiha.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
LOL we are nearing the end. This was supposed to be more on the fluffy side, I hope it came across. Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

Warning: There's a sex scene in the last part, you can skip if it's not your cup of tea.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto closed the door of his bedroom and bid Iruka goodnight. The brunet was happy to have Sasuke sleepover that he particularly wanted to give his own room to the Uchiha. Naruto sighed when he remembered the awkward dinner they had – filled with Iruka mentioning embarrassing moments of Naruto’s life – and brought out a thick blanket for Sasuke. The black haired player took the offered comfort and made himself cozy on the bed. Naruto on the other hand, brought out his futon and laid it on the floor, he stroked the mattress to even it out then made himself home. He quickly switched off the lights and hopped onto his futon. The warmth engulfed him in minutes and the tiredness of the day seemed to catch up to him. However, before he drifted off to the land of dreams, Sasuke’s voice floated to his ears.

“Naruto, do you have lectures tomorrow?”

The blond thought hard about it and nodded. “Yeah, first thing in the morning, you?”

“Me too.”

“Let’s go together, then.”

Sasuke shuffled until his face was directed to Naruto. “I can’t, I have to go back home and change first.”

Naruto’s face fell slowly but quickly he recovered. “Okay, that means we’ll meet at practice.”

“Hn.”

The blond smiled at the raven haired male and whispered. “Good night, Sasuke, I’m glad you’re here.”

Sasuke simply looked at him, their eyes had gotten used to the darkness of the room now, and each could make out the silhouette of the other. The black haired player plopped himself on his elbow and asked.

“Can I ask you something?” He didn’t wait for Naruto’s approval and asked. “Why do you like me?”

Naruto felt his heart quicken at the question, but before he was given a chance to reply, Sasuke followed.

“We haven’t known each other for a long time to say it was something brewing over time, nor did we like each other from the beginning. I get that you like my play, but that couldn’t be a reason for liking my person. My play is different from my personality. I have a bad mouth, short temper, I’m also arrogant and couldn’t bother with a lot of stuff. I like my privacy and if there’s a way to function in this world without interacting with people, I’d be the first to do it –”  
Sasuke stopped listing the bad qualities in him when he heard Naruto laugh. His brows knitted together and he asked, somewhat irritated.

“I don’t think I said a joke for you to laugh.”

Naruto raised a hand apologizing. “Sorry, sorry, Sasuke, don’t get mad. It’s just, you were cute saying all those things about yourself. Anyway, to answer your question, have you heard of the saying that ‘you like because and you love despite’?”

The knot on Sasuke’s brows only increased. “What do you mean?”

“Basically, you have a lot of girl liking you; that’s because of the good things they see. Be it your looks, awesome play or your financial background. However, when someone loves you, they’ll love you despite the bad qualities you just listed.”

Sasuke thought of those words for a little then something hit him, he sat up straight. “Naruto… you have a very bad way in expressing yourself.”

The blond saw Sasuke click the light open on the nightstand lampshade, he climbed down and was sitting on his futon, beside him. Naruto refused to acknowledge the close proximity until it was necessary.

“If I interpreted your words right, does it mean what I think it does?”

Naruto felt his face heat up and his heart shake. He had to sit up because at least, for this part, he didn’t want to lie down. With strong-willed eyes, he ran away from Sasuke.

“Umm… can we discuss this another time? I don’t think it’s the place or time for this.”

The raven haired male pondered that for a minute then got up on the bed. If the blond wanted to run away he’d give him that, because he himself wasn’t really ready for that discussion. “Alright, Uzumaki, I’ll allow you your comfort tonight. But keep in mind, you’ll have to make it clear next time.”

Naruto could feel his heart throb. He was being a coward. The other night he was declaring to Sasuke how he’d hunt him down, but apparently instead of a mighty fox, he was a cowardly chicken. Did he overestimate himself or his feelings? No, that wasn’t it. It was because he was afraid. Sasuke looked experienced, while he was still a virgin. The blond wanted to dig a hole and die before that fact got out. Throughout his nineteen years of life, he’s never had a girlfriend so sex was out of the question naturally. Looking up at his bed, he sighed inwardly, he really wanted to kiss Sasuke and attack him right then. Yet the virgin in him was quivering, he didn’t want to be disliked.

Besides, he wasn’t one hundred percent sure his kissing technique was acceptable, what if Sasuke thought he was lousy and decided never to kiss him again? Naruto didn’t think his small heart would recover from the trauma.

Even though, Naruto still wanted to at least be close to Sasuke. Sleeping on different mattresses wasn’t particularly close, yet he didn’t want to impose on Sasuke. He should be satisfied the black haired Uchiha agreed to spend the night. The last thing he wanted was for Sasuke to feel pressured. A part of him countered that he’d already given Sasuke heads up, telling him to get ready for the pursuit, so even if he were to jump him, the Uchiha should be prepared. Naruto quickly stifled that part with a pillow and silenced it. He liked to think of his pursuit as sweet and tender, he’d make Sasuke fall for him without the other feeling cornered or forced into it. True so far, he did nothing to get that goal, but at least Sasuke was sleeping in his room, within the same vicinity.

Next goal, sleep together on the same bad!

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto waved goodbye to the man he was hunting and locked his front door. He released a huge sigh as he entered the living room area, Iruka watched his son’s troubled face and had to ask.

“What’s wrong, Naruto?”

The blond contemplated if he should consult with his father about this, but what would he say? He was head over heels in love with someone who rejected him from the get go? Sighing once more, he decided to keep his worries to himself. “Nothing, Iruka, I’m just thinking of the training schedule we are doing.”

“Hmmm… it doesn’t seem like that though.”

“It is.” He insisted. “Anyway, I’m going to get ready now.”

“Wait, Naruto,” Iruka called before the blond could disappear from his viewfinder. “Tonight don’t wait up for dinner, I’m going out with a friend.”

Naruto raised a brow, it’d been a while since Iruka last went out drinking. “With who? Is it someone I know? Or is it a date?”

The brunet rolled his eyes at his son and answered. “It’s not a date, he’s a guy. Actually, you sort of know him and umm…don’t?”

The blond was intrigued now, he came and sat beside his father. “Okay, you got my attention. Who is he?”

Iruka frowned and poked Naruto on the forehead. “I won’t tell you; you’ll make a big deal of it if you knew. Besides, it would make you anxious.”

“You keeping me in the dark is making me more anxious.” Naruto protested. “Aaaaaaand if he’s not a date, then why would I care who you befriend?”

Standing up, Iruka walked to his room with cool steps. “Naruto, go and get ready. I’m going to draw.”

The brunet closed the door to his room and their little discussion with that. Naruto scowled at the empty living room, he was still hung up over Sasuke and the issues that they didn’t solve and now, Iruka’s life has a new addition. Sighing, he decided to put all those issues on the back of his mind and go to his school. If Iruka didn’t want to let him know, he’d be an ideal son and respect his wishes.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

‘Respect his wishes my ass!’

Naruto fixed the dark sunglasses over his face and hid behind a tree, his vibrant hair was hidden by a cap. He wore an oversized hoodie that hid his profile diligently. Tailing Iruka was an art he’d perfected over the years. It’d started when he was twelve, that time Iruka had a business meeting with a woman who Naruto found suspicious. Of course at that time, he did it because he wanted to help protect Iruka if said woman wanted to do anything A.K.A molest him. Yet, right now, his sole purpose was to satisfy his own curiosity.

Iruka was very stubborn at times, and he might not even tell Naruto who he was meeting even if he were to wait. The blond also wasn’t that patient as to wait around for him to speak. His feet moved swiftly when Iruka entered an ordinary looking izakaya.

“I still think this is stupid.”

From his right side, Sasuke stood with his arms crossed, he was also forced into disguise. Wearing a high neck jacket, baggy jeans and a hat matched with the trademark huge sunglasses. Passersby were giving them the looks – they were wearing sunglasses at night for starters – and Sasuke felt his face flush from embarrassment. Naruto turned to him and shushed.

“Keep your voice down! Iruka has amazing hearing!”

Rolling his eyes at the scold, Sasuke spoke annoyed. “He’s all the way across the street inside the izakaya, what hearing! Naruto, I’m going back to the field. I don’t have time to play spy with you.”

The blond stopped him and pleaded. “No, Sasuke, you can’t! I have to know who is taking Iruka out!”

“Maybe you should honor his wishes, allow him some privacy.” Sasuke spoke with reason.

Naruto shrugged that reason out the way. “No way, there’s no such thing as privacy in family. I have to know every little and big things concerning Iruka.”  
Sasuke scowled at the obsessive nature but stayed. “You’re a father-con, aren’t you?”

“Call me what you want, but stay.”

Sighing, Sasuke returned the shades to his eyes. “Naruto, you really have no friends.”

Naruto wanted to refute that and highlight how the raven haired male was in a similar boat, yet since he was begging Sasuke to keep him company, he felt it wasn’t right to insult back. Actually, the reason why Sasuke was tagging along was because Naruto was caught red-handed. When the time came for Iruka to go for dinner, Naruto called him and casually asked where he’d be at and when he’d be home. Iruka answered him – not knowing his son would end up stalking him. Sasuke was curious when Naruto asked Neji for an early leave, when he followed him to the locker room, he saw Naruto dress in disguise.

With no real pressure from Sasuke at all, Naruto blurted out his whole scheme and asked Sasuke to tag along. It was more dragging him than requesting aid, and since his practicing partner was leaving, Sasuke decided to go with him, there wasn’t much he could do alone anyways.

“Sasuke, let’s cross, I can’t see anything from here.”

Naruto didn’t wait for affirmation as he crossed the street, Sasuke toed coolly. The blond tried to peak through the window without being seen, he was able to locate Iruka, yet the person sitting on the tatami mat in front of him blocked the face of Iruka’s date. Frowning, Naruto had to switch angles. Just when Sasuke was getting fed up and suspicious looks were given from the izakaya’s staff, did Naruto finally take a good look of the mysterious companion.

His eyes bulged out of their sockets and with all his might, he stopped himself from shouting the name. Sasuke saw the change in Naruto’s face and followed his sight, he was a little bit startled when he saw their manager, Hatake Kakashi, sitting comfortably across from Iruka and causally having a great time.

The black haired player looked at the mess of blond now lying on the hard cement and sighed. He apologized to the staff for disturbing them and dragged Naruto away. They walked to a nearby bus stop, Sasuke put Naruto on the bench and sat beside him.

“Why? Why was Kakashi there?” Naruto asked, not finding the right words to use.

“Well, they probably became friends.” Sasuke answered as a matter of a fact.

“HOW!?”

Rolling his eyes at the child who discovered his father had a new best friend, Sasuke reasoned. “It’s normal, Naruto, I don’t get why you’re freaking out so much. They probably found out they have similar tastes and hanged out, Kakashi isn’t a bad person, you shouldn’t mind this too much.”

“I know he’s not bad… it’s just… why did Iruka feel he needed to hide this from me?”

Sasuke wanted to demonstrate how Naruto was freaking out and that was the reason, but he used a gentler approach.

“Maybe he didn’t want you to feel awkward. A relationship between your football manager and father isn’t something easy. Some people might dislike the mingling of family and work. He just didn’t want you to overthink stuff… which ended up happening anyway.” The raven haired Uchiha finished with a smirk.

Naruto held his head in between his hands and removed the cap. A sigh escaped his lips as he got up. “Sasuke, let’s go have some ramen. I’m hungry.”

“…”

Again that night, Sasuke kept his opinion to himself and allowed the blond to drag him to yet, another place he didn’t want to go to. All so Naruto’s spirit would soar again.

\--------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto yawned and rubbed his eyes, he looked at the quiet field and sighed. His teammates were still getting ready, he looked at his watch and it read 6:30 AM. Sighing at the very early day, he frowned when his captain made his appearance on the field. With cool steps, Neji came to sit beside him on the bench. Naruto hugged the ball in his arms tighter.

“Neji… for the love of God, why do we need to practice so early?”

“I was also against it.” The brunet demonstrated, rolling his long hair into a bun. “But Kakashi was very adamant about it. To tell you the truth, I’m not a morning person.”

Naruto watched as his captain yawned, causing him to release a yawn as if being infected. The two stayed on the bench and looked as the players continued flocking around, some groaned about the early practice while some simply rolled with it. Naruto blinked as suddenly Neji was missing from his side, however looking at the crowd, he saw him playing around with Gaara. Just when he thought to laze around some more, Kakashi’s voice rung to bring them all together. Naruto quickly sprung to his feet, laziness out the window.

Kakashi instructed them to start practicing, the schedule they were given was switched a little. Naruto noticed the addition of some lower body muscle training. As he looked around to check his playmate, Sasuke was nowhere to be found. Naruto frowned but his attention was grabbed when Kiba shouted out to him.

“Naruto, come here!” The blond followed and the messy haired burnet barked. “You’ll practice together with Shino and I today.”

“Hmmm why?” Raising a brow, he asked.

“Because manager said so.” Shino answered him, already warming up.

“Where’s Sasuke?”

“Family issues.” Kiba replied this time.

The blond quickly put two and two together. It had been a while since Sasuke was missing from practice that the issue of his mother’s illness slipped his mind. Naruto had met the nice lady and couldn’t sense any sickness from her body, that’s why the issue was so far away from his brain. Nodding at the two, he grinned.

“Alright then, let’s start!”

“Uzumaki, you should know, I won’t go easy on you!” Kiba warned, eyes slanting excitedly.

Naruto rolled the sleeves of his shirt, exposing his toned deltoids and smirked. “I won’t expect you to, Inuzuka!”

Shino rolled his eyes at the two idiots and passed them the ball, feeling like even if he missed this practice session, his existence won’t be noticed.

After five hours of intensive training, Naruto was allowed home. He massaged his tired shoulders and was about to head home, however, a part of him was a little worried about Sasuke. Sure, the raven haired male wasn’t hurt himself, but the stress of having a sick parent wasn’t minor. He flipped his cell and dialed Sasuke’s number, sadly, his call didn’t connect. Naruto tried a couple of other times, with the same result. When it was apparent that he won’t connect, he opted for a message. Neji mentioned that Sasuke was out of the country so Naruto wasn’t sure if phone calls across countries worked with different SIM cards or not.

Thinking it wasn’t time for this, Naruto headed home. Since according to Kakashi, they needed to return to the field at 4:00 PM for evening practice. The blond sighed as he headed to the bus station, already feeling the tiredness of the morning catch up to him.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke ignored the constant buzzing of his phone, it had been two days since he left with his mother and Naruto’s persistence was amazing. The blond was always texting him on social media, probably because he wasn’t able to connect with the Uchiha. Sasuke always made a mind note to change his number the minute he left the country. Currently he was in the hospital waiting area, his mother was doing her routine examination and he was waiting for her return. He finally gave up and replied to one of Naruto’s annoying messages.

The blond would ask about how he was and when he’d be back, he never once asked where Sasuke was or what he was doing. The raven haired man had a hunch Naruto knew about his mother’s illness – the culprit would be Neji – but he never followed up on that hunch. He could ask directly, but what if Naruto wasn’t aware? Would he end up sharing an intimate detail with him? Sasuke sighed, he really didn’t want to get closer to Naruto. Something in him was afraid of the blond… afraid of trusting him and relying on him.

Naruto was clear about wanting a relationship with him, but Sasuke didn’t feel the same. Actually, in the beginning, he was fascinated with Naruto’s spirit and game. He could feel the young man’s love for football, something he felt tied them together. The first time he saw Naruto play, he didn’t pay him much attention – in fact, he annoyed him, however, the second time was different. Sasuke could feel his spirit fly and heart thump with every movement Naruto made. Probably because Naruto was putting his all into winning, it showed a beautiful side of him.

Sasuke looked at his phone, another text came, it was a picture of Naruto holding a football and a crying emoji with the caption ‘miss you, Sasuke!’. The black haired Uchiha felt his mouth twitch into a smile. It was a goofy picture, but he liked the silliness of Naruto.

Before his mind wandered, he stopped himself. ‘Liked’, he really needed to stop getting influenced by Naruto’s charm. Neji was always annoying him that he needed friends, he thought he’d find that with Naruto, but the blond was too charming, that without knowing what’s what, Sasuke was pulled into his orbit. The Uchiha was still holding onto his initial thoughts, he can’t have a romantic relationship with Naruto… it just felt troubling.

Another picture of Naruto was sent. This time, he was striking a ridiculous pose, holding a red rose between his teeth. Sasuke tried to stifle the laugh but when he read the caption, his insides exploded. ‘Fall into my heart, Sasuke.’

“Ara, it’s been a while since I saw you laugh this hard.”

In a matter of a second, Sasuke straightened up in front of his mother. He stood up and was beside her in a blink of an eye, hiding his phone.

“How was the examination?” He asked, escaping her comment.

“Everything’s fine, my body is responding well to the medical treatment. The doctor said the next follow up would be three months from now. Isn’t that good, Sasuke?” She clapped her hands together. “You don’t need to bother coming with me every month~”

His face twisted at her words. “Mother, you know I don’t –”

“I know, I know, I have heard it all before. But, Sasuke, it’s not that you think it’s a burden or not, it’s that you’re missing out on your life because of me. We have been coming regularly here for three years now. We stay for a week every month. Do you realize the amount of time you have been spending on this?”  
“Was this why you snuck off without me last month?”

Sasuke’s mother laughed jokingly. “You caught me. Yes, I didn’t want you to miss any more games. Your manager is an understanding man, but, Sasuke, we have been taking advantage of this.”

“Nonsense, mother, there’s nothing more important than you.” Sasuke defended his way of thinking.

The black haired woman shook her head. “That conjecture isn’t right, there are a lot of things more important than my health. Your life for instance, I want you to go out there and live it. Stop always worrying about me, your father or Itachi. We are all doing fine. I worry about you, Sasuke, you’re too kind.”

When her soft hand was placed on his cheek, Sasuke gave her a small smile. “Don’t worry, I’m living my life as best as I could. But, mother, what do you mean Itachi’s well? Have you been in touch with him?”

The woman flinched a little and avoided his eyes. “Oh, look at the time, I think we should get going.”

Before his mother could evade the ordeal, he stopped her firmly. “You said you don’t want me to worry, then please, if you know anything about him, tell me… I always thought it was weird how he just up and left. Itachi wasn’t close with father, but that wasn’t the way with you. I know you were always giving him silent support, so with the embezzlement, if it wasn’t for someone on the inside – someone close to father – who was able to distract him, Itachi wouldn’t have been able to get away with it.”

When her son’s serious eyes faced her, Mikoto asked him to follow her. If they were about to discuss Itachi, she needed a private place. They went to the businessmen lounge in the VIP section of the waiting area, she asked for a private room, the workers obliged. Five minutes later, she sat down and gestured for her son to sit beside her. Mikoto’s eyes looked at the faraway wall as she spoke softly.

“You’re right, Sasuke, I was the one who helped your brother leave. Throughout his childhood, Itachi was the perfect son. He always did what your father and I wanted before we even said it. That’s why I never saw how pained he was, I still regret it until now, I shouldn’t have left him to your father, I should have been there for him. He was my son as well, however, your brother, he doesn’t hold me accountable for anything he’d experienced. It’s because of that, that I couldn’t allow him to keep living captive to your father’s dreams.” Mikoto smiled and faced her son. “The truth is, Itachi wasn’t the one who thought about leaving or the embezzlement, it was my idea. I wanted him to be set free and at the same time, I wanted to slap your father to wake up. Your father put his work before his family, he didn’t see us clearly… he needed a wakeup call, that’s why the best thing was to hit him where it hurts.”

Sasuke listened with wide eyes as his mother joyfully told her story.

“The look on your father’s face when he learnt about everything was priceless!” Mikoto released a melodious laugh. “He never thought that Itachi would betray him or leave without saying a word. You might not have known this, but your father trusted Itachi blindly. He’d close any deal based on Itachi’s words solely. To me it wasn’t a good thing, he was putting a lot of a burden on my baby boy’s tiny shoulders. Once everything calmed down and Fugaku saw why Itachi did what he’s done, he slowly but surely, reflected on everything he did. Your father is very stubborn and hardheaded so it took a while until he was able to be at peace with everything. I was glad actually, Itachi needed to live his life and not take so much responsibilities so young. Just like you do, honey.”  
The raven haired male asked when she stopped talking, having now grasped the whole truth.

“Then what about Itachi? Where is he now?”

Winking, she explained. “I can’t disclose his exact location, because I promised him I wouldn’t, but he’s okay. He’s started his own business, doing something that he loves.”

A relieved smile showed on Sasuke’s features. “That’s a relief.”

“Yes, it is, dear. He also sends his greetings. Every time we make contact, he asks about you. Itachi really cares about you, Sasuke, so don’t burden yourself with anything unnecessary… for all of our sake.”

The young player nodded to his mother with a smile, it caused Mikoto to put her hand on his and squeeze.

“I love you so much, my son. You and Itachi are the most important people in my life. I would trade all the fortune in this world for your happiness. That’s why, Sasuke, don’t put your life on hold or step on your dreams because of your father and I. We have lived our lives and fulfilled everything we wanted to fulfill, don’t feel burdened by your father’s companies. Study what you want to do, live how you want to live, experience love, enjoy football and most of all, never regret not doing something your heart tells you to do.”

The black eyed male listened to every word his mother said, he never knew she had all those things bottled up inside of her. When she finished, Mikoto embraced her younger son in a tight hug. Sasuke was very similar to her in character, he was a sensitive child, both kind and sweet. However, he could be very stubborn and hold onto things that he shouldn’t. She had learned her lesson too late and didn’t want the same for her son. Sasuke returned his mother’s hug and took a deep breath, basking in the delightful scent of hers.

They broke off the hug after a while and Mikoto Uchiha was the first one to speak. “Now, let’s go back home. I already told your father we’d be home for dinner.”

“…We can go tomorrow; you should rest tonight.” Sasuke spoke, a little worried about his mother’s health.

“Nonsense! I already informed him and besides, from the way you have been laughing, I bet there’s someone you can’t wait to see, too.”

A tiny blush showed on his face at her teasing and Sasuke brushed it off. “No such thing, mother.”

Mikoto simply laughed at her shy son and walked together with him out of the fancy lounge.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Naruto felt like he was back to his five-year-old self at Christmas, being given his first gift. Stars played inside his eyes as he walked to his front door. He put on his jacket and left the cozy apartment. This was his first time being invited out by Sasuke. Naruto looked at the text that told of where Sasuke wanted him to be, and grinned. The Uchiha has been away for three days, he hated how he was acting like a girl in love missing him so much, but Naruto just couldn’t control his emotions. Maybe because it was his first time falling in love, his emotions were hard to tone down.

Naruto stopped a taxi – not wanting Sasuke to wait for him – and headed to the location. Half an hour later, he was paying the taxi driver and stepping inside a fancy looking restaurant. Naruto looked at his casual attire and cringed. Sasuke didn’t tell him anything about a dress code, hoping there was none, he went inside. The blond player was given a look of inspection by the host of the restaurant, as if his presence wasn’t welcomed. Naruto looked back – who had a thin and sharp mustache, reminding him of how cartoons would show sophisticated Frenchmen – and asked about where Uchiha Sasuke sat. The man fixed his long, sharp mustache and slanted eyes at Naruto, the blond felt the scrutiny and dissatisfaction radiate from him. Having proclaimed that Naruto was too poor for the high class restaurant, the man snorted.

“I’m afraid there’s no reservation by that name.”

The blond scratched his head and frowned. “Are you sure? Can you check again? U-C-H-I-H-A S-A-S-U-K-E.”

The host wanted nothing more than to kick the blond out, especially after he spelt the name for him. However, he was a gentleman and won’t revolt to such savage acts. “I assure you, sir, there’s no reservation in my book by that name or another.”

Naruto walked away from the entrance of the restaurant when new people came for their reservations. He quickly dialed Sasuke’s number and was astonished when a hand tapped his shoulder, turning around, he grinned when he came face to face with his date.

Exclaiming in delight, Naruto greeted. “Sasuke! I was just about to call you!”

The Uchiha nodded, fixing his black suit up. “That’s fine, what did you need me for?”

Naruto took a minute to check out the black haired player. He was clad in a black suit from head to toe, it was perfectly toned to his body, probably specially designed. Sasuke wasn’t wearing a tie nor a vest, he was most likely aiming for a casual, classy yet formal look. It gave him a proper and alluring touch. His hair was combed backwards on one side, while his bangs fell lazily from the other side in a slanting manner. That’s when the silver earring on his right ear shone brightly, catching Naruto’s attention. Sasuke was a feast for the eyes, with his physique, his pale complexion and handsome features many were mesmerized. Of course, Naruto’s eyes weren’t any different.

“…You… you look good, Sasuke.” The blond stumbled out a complement, feeling a slight blush at it.

Sasuke was a little taken aback by it, he wasn’t expecting it so he nodded. It was always like that; Naruto would drop tiny complements when he least expected them. Sometimes, it made his heart thump erratically, other times it made him at a loss of what to say, this time it was the latter.

“Let’s go in.”

Before Sasuke could make his way inside, Naruto halted his movement. “Stop, Sasuke, we can’t!”

“Why?” He asked with a brow raised.

“Because there’s no reservation by your name. This is what I wanted to tell you on the phone, when I was about to go in, the host said there’s no reservation.”

Sasuke quickly rolled his eyes, grabbed Naruto’s hand and walked inside. When the host saw Sasuke approach with Naruto in toe, he bowed respectfully. Sasuke didn’t even glance at him as he mumbled.

“The usual table, please.”

The man – still bowing – replied. “Understood, sir.”

Sasuke walked into the restaurant and Naruto was just astonished at the display. He stayed silent as they were given a table on the second floor, by the windows, overshadowing the ocean underneath. The scenery was breathtaking, the dim lights and the cozy breeze illuminated a perfect décor. Even though the place was comfortable, the blond felt a little uneasy. He noticed the stares he was given and the whispers he was hearing. Almost all of them disapproved of his presence, he sighed inwardly, there really was a dress code. Glaring at his companion, Sasuke acted as if he was home, seemingly uninterested with all the attention.

“Sasuke,” He whispered the name. “Why didn’t you tell me there was a dress code?”

“Because there was no need.”

A vein throbbed in his forehead, still whispering, he stressed his dissatisfaction. “Of course, there’s a need. Look at everyone snickering at me, it’s feels like I’m naked!”

Sasuke nonchalantly dismissed his worries. “Ignore them. Focus on me.”

The blond sighed, there was no winning with Sasuke. He really believed there was no need to tell Naruto that little detail, Naruto was sure that even if he pressed the matter, Sasuke won’t see the error of his ways. Choosing to abandon a losing battle, he asked instead.

“Then, tell me, how did they allow us in without a reservation?”

The raven haired male held out the menu and called one of the waiters, he ordered for the two of them, not giving Naruto a choice. When the waiter went away, Sasuke explained.

“Silly, Naruto, of course we don’t have a reservation. My family owns this restaurant; why would I need a reservation to eat in it?”

Naruto’s eyes widened, he looked at the fancy restaurant, the apparently wealthy people dinning and Sasuke. It dawned on him now that he was in the company of a rich young master. Naruto had been to Sasuke’s house a couple of times, he knew he was loaded, yet it never really hit home until that moment. Feeling a little sheepish and at a loss of what to say, Naruto spoke the truth.

“I guess you’re really rich, huh?”

“No, I am not. It’s my father’s money. I have no cent on my name.” Sasuke reputed, munching on a garlic bread.

“Your father’s money is your money, Sasuke.”

“I chose to disagree, anyways,” Sasuke waved his hands. “This isn’t why I asked you here, Naruto. What I wanted to say was –”

Sasuke was interrupted when an elderly man came to greet him, the black eyed male lost all comfort in his voice and gave off a smile Naruto had never seen. It was clearly a business smile, fake and respectful. Naruto felt goosebumps flash under his skin at this, but he didn’t comment until Sasuke sat down and continued.

“So where were we?”

Naruto helped him. “You were about to say why you asked me here.”

“Oh, yes. First, let’s say I’m treating you tonight, I ordered you my favorite dishes, I hope you’d enjoy them.” Sasuke spoke with a soft tone, then he continued. “Second, I want to ask you something, I do wish you’d answer truthfully.”

The blond was on his toes in a second. “…Okay.”

“Do you know why I miss the first week of every month?”

Naruto felt his extremities get cold. He wanted to shy away from answering, but the way Sasuke was asking him made it impossible. Sighing, he resigned to the truth, after all, he was an honest man.

“Yes, I asked Neji-senpai one time and he told me. I just know that your mother is ill with a blood disorder and you go abroad for check-ups.”

“Aha, I figured.”

A waiter came and poured some champagne for the both of them, Naruto looked at the red, expensive liquid and swallowed hard. Not daring to touch the glass, he defended Neji.

“You should know, Sasuke, Neji-senpai only told me because I nagged and was worried about you. He didn’t tell me anything too deep or stuff you won’t want people to know –”

“I didn’t want you to know about my mother, yet he still told you.” Sasuke calmly commented, slightly annoyed.

Naruto felt trapped, he was regretting now admitting that Neji was the one who told him. He should have thought of an elaborate lie to conceal the truth. Yet being confronted like that, it left him no room to think of a countermeasure. He didn’t want to be the reason for a fight between the two.

“Just… it’s not Neji-senpai’s fault, Sasuke, he didn’t betray your trust, please, don’t be mad at him.” Naruto pleaded.

Sasuke took a sip from the red wine and replied. “I’m not mad, strange as it is, I understand why he told you. I’m just annoyed that he beat me to it. I do wish I was the one who discussed my family’s situation with you.”

A sigh of relief escaped Naruto’s lips. “If that’s really what you think, then there are a lot of stuff I don’t know about you.”

“Hmm…” Sasuke pondered, then asked when something caught his attention. “You don’t drink?”

Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. “I… I don’t really like alcohol. I dislike how my mind gets fuzzy when I drink or how I lose my grasp on reality. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against those who like it, but to me, it’s better kept away.”

“Sometimes it’s better to have a cloudy mind.”

Blue orbs shone brightly with Naruto’s next words. “I like to face my problems head on, people who drink a lot use it as means to escape reality, I don’t want that way out.”

Sasuke twirled the glass in between his fingers then nodded. “You have a point, but not everyone has that strength, Naruto. Life is quite hard, having something that makes you forget isn’t so bad once in a while.”

“Life is meant to be lived, Sasuke, both ups and downs. There’s nothing as a perfect life. You live and you struggle, but if you keep on running… if you keep avoiding your issues, then you’re not living; you’re simply existing.”

The raven haired male nodded at Naruto’s words. “Alright, we will stop that discussion there. Then let’s go to the third reason why you’re here today, Naruto; this will be our first date, I agree to go out with you.”

The blond looked with wide eyes at Sasuke who drank as if he was discussing the weather, and taking a sip from the glass before him didn’t seem so hard right then.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Following a week into their supposed dating, Naruto noticed no change in Sasuke’s behavior. Initially, he wanted to question why the raven haired male agreed, but he was a little afraid that Sasuke would change his mind and break up with him. Naruto wanted to try it out, going out with Sasuke, yet nothing in their relationship has changed. They went to practice, hung out afterwards and each left to his designated home. The blond frowned as he hugged his ragged football. Throwing it over his head, he stretched his hands and held it before it hit him. He was currently lying on his bed, leisurely enjoying his weekend. Actually, he wanted to hang out with Sasuke but the other said he needed to work.

Naruto knew how Sasuke was jiggling football, university and work so he didn’t object. However, he did want to see the Uchiha even for a second. A crazy thought popped into his head, he flopped onto his feet and excitedly dialed his boyfriend’s number. Five rings later Sasuke’s voice came from the other side. Naruto joyfully exclaimed.

“Sasuke, where are you at now?”

There was a pause on the other line, then Sasuke’s cool tone answered. “In the company.”

“Send me the location!”

“…Why?” The hesitation didn’t go undetected to Naruto’s ears.

“Just do it.”

“Okay.”

With that their brief conversation came to an end, Naruto quickly went to the kitchen. A peep was heard from his phone, he glanced at the message of the location and put it away. The blue eyed male didn’t know how to cook one hundred percent, but he was confident that he could whip out the best yakisoba pan in the prefecture. The last time he was cruising restaurants with Sasuke, he took a few notes. The traditionally bred Sasuke liked traditional Japanese food, especially soba. Naruto wasn’t a fan, but different people had different tastes. For him, soba was only for new years and special occasions alongside sekihan, but to Sasuke, it was different. Much like tomatoes, the raven haired Uchiha adored the fruit.

Naruto quickly whipped the dough for the pan, putting a mind note to add lots of tomatoes to Sasuke’s stuffing. Half an hour later, the food was perfectly prepared. He took a quick shower, changed into an outfit that he thought would be suitable for going over Sasuke’s company and headed out. The location Sasuke gave was in the middle of the business district. There were no bus stations nearby, so Naruto’s only solution was to take a taxi. As expected, the streets were crowded so it took more time than needed to get there.

As he entered the huge company, his eyes glossed over and he gulped. Holding the lunch box tightly, Naruto walked to the reception. A woman with short black hair and a professional attire, directed her glasses wearing eyes at him. With a bright grin, he spoke.

“Good afternoon, can you please call Uchiha Sasuke for me. Tell him Uzumaki Naruto wants to meet him.”

The woman gave Naruto a smile and asked him to wait, she quickly dialed some numbers on the phone in front of her. A few seconds later, she informed him to take a seat on the café in the second floor and that Uchiha Sasuke-sama will be there with him as soon as possible. Naruto nodded and headed upstairs. The café was as common as they come. Filled with people in business suits and a few in casual clothes, he scowled. Now that he thought about it, he didn’t really know what Sasuke’s company did, Naruto decided to ask him the minute they meet.

Before the thought escaped his mind, the familiar silhouette of Sasuke walked over to his table. Naruto’s eyes sparkled when he saw him. The raven haired male had his hair combed to the back completely, exposing a professional demeanor. His navy blue suit and tie fit him as usual, the blond felt a little unsettling at how sexy Sasuke was. Before drooling from the sight, Sasuke’s voice called out to him.

“Idiot, stop undressing me with your eyes.”

Naruto smiled sheepishly and replied. “Am I not allowed to? You’re my boyfriend, aren’t you?”

“There’s place and time for everything.” Sasuke gave him a small kiss on the cheek before sitting down, opposite of him. “So? What are you doing here?”

Naruto tried to act as if the peck did nothing to his heart and, put the lunchbox on the table to expose his masterpiece. “Here, I made yakisoba pan!”

Raising a brow at the unexpected treat, Sasuke questioned. “You came all the way here for this?”

“It’s not ‘for this’, Sasuke,” He corrected, a little annoyed with the way Sasuke was phrasing things. “It’s for us to have lunch together. You might not have noticed, but it’s been a while since we last met, I missed you.”

A little laugh escaped Sasuke’s lips and he commented. “Naruto, you’re such a girl.”

The blond was torn between rejoicing at the sound of Sasuke’s laugh and getting angry at the nasty comment. He settled for neither and pushed the lunch box to the middle of the table.

“Whatever, you didn’t have lunch yet, right?”

Sasuke loosened up his tie, ruffled his hair a little and sighed. “No, not yet, we’ve been swamped by work. We’re launching a new project, that’s why everything and everyone is in havoc. I think this is the first time I sit since this day has started.”

When Naruto heard of Sasuke’s busy schedule, he gave a reassuring smile. “Then you should thank God for having such a thoughtful boyfriend. I brought all the nutrients you need!”

“I highly doubt yakisoba pan is nutritious.” Sasuke smirked at him.

“…Well, like the saying goes ‘carbs are the kings of the food chain’.” Naruto confidently blurted out.

Another laugh echoed from Sasuke. “You just made that up.”

“I did,” Naruto grinned back. “But it should be true, anyhow, dig in before it gets cold.”

The raven haired male called one of the waitresses and asked for some beverages for the two of them, taking the chance to wash his hands. When he was back, Naruto had already put his share in a plate and asked him to sit and dine. Sasuke smiled, a feeling of contentment washed over him and he made a little wish for that instant to last a little bit longer.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the perfect moment, they had the whole apartment to themselves and the mood was set. Naruto had arranged everything so that he’d be able to move to the next step, actually kissing Sasuke and probably losing something more. Naruto told his raging heart to be still as he – blushing like a bride on her wedding day – put a hand over Sasuke’s pale one. With determined eyes, he gulped his nervousness away.

“S-Sasuke… can I… um… k-kiss you?” Naruto felt more embarrassed after his little stuttering accident. He really couldn’t approach this topic logically.  
Sasuke put the glass of wine down and keenly looked at the blond. Naruto averted his eyes, then slowly pulled away his hand and finally broke down unable to meet Sasuke’s gaze and covered his face with his two hands.

“You suck at this.” Sasuke said with a smirk.

Naruto slumped on the table and wanted to dig a hole and die. “…”

He’d asked Sasuke to spend the night, Iruka was sleeping over at Kakashi’s, and he made the perfect dinner. Candlelight was all around them, he even went as far as to steal Iruka’s celebratory white wine for this chance. However, Naruto couldn’t get over his embarrassment, he was too nervous for his own good, after all, this was his first boyfriend and his first relationship. He had no idea how to attract him or advance without saying it aloud.

Sasuke was enjoying himself over the other’s inner breakdown. When Naruto called him over, he knew the blond had something in mind – his voice on the phone was too unnatural. As he walked into the apartment and was met with the sweet fragrance of roses, he cringed inwardly. It was true to his horror, Naruto had set a table filled with red roses, candles and a homemade dinner. There was effort in it so Sasuke obliged the blond, the food wasn’t as awful as he’d guessed and the white wine was especially to his taste.

He applauded Naruto’s attempt at being romantic.

Yet it all came to an end with his weakness to intimacy. It told Sasuke a lot, one for a start that this new boyfriend of his, was very new to relationships. The thought was alluring and charming to the Uchiha, that’s why he put his glass down and decided to mentor a little.

“Naruto, look at me.”

The blond was still caught in his own little world to respond, Sasuke rolled his eyes and slowly, his fingers crept into Naruto’s hand. The blond raised his face at the new sensation, he saw Sasuke looking at him with a foreign gaze, he gulped. Sasuke stood up elegantly and walked to his side. Without saying anything, he took hold of Naruto’s hands and directed them to his midsection, leaning down, Sasuke brought his face inches away from Naruto’s.

Sasuke could feel Naruto’s hot breath on his pale complexion, he slowly sat down on Naruto’s lap. The blond was startled by the sudden action but when his boyfriend started playing with his hair, he forgot any objections he might have had. Surrendering himself to Sasuke, Naruto allowed him to dominate. Sasuke circled his arms around Naruto’s neck and tenderly kissed his exposed clavicle. Slowly but tenderly, he made a trail of small kisses upwards, passing Naruto’s neck, his chin – he avoided the lips – and up to his temple.

Naruto’s eyes got half-lidded as pleasure shot to his system, his face was beat red and his mind was foggy, he licked his lips as he anticipated where Sasuke would touch him next. Yet suddenly, everything stopped and the pressure on his lap was lifted. Blinking out of ecstasy, Naruto looked at the raven haired male who returned back to his seat, glass in hand.

Sasuke’s smirk deepened as he answered his puzzled eyes. “That’s how you ask for a kiss, Naruto.”

The blond didn’t know what hit him, but he was sure, he’d just been played with. Feeling another set of embarrassment, for a different reason, wash over him and with the little hard-on Sasuke’s touch aroused in him, Naruto excused himself to the bathroom. The sound of Sasuke snickering behind him didn’t escape his hearing. Fifteen minutes later, he came out with a pout on his face.

“Sasuke, that wasn’t nice! I wanted to make this day perfect!”

The raven haired male had discarded the meal by then and was sitting on the couch, watching TV. Causally, he patted the space next to him and called his boyfriend over.

“Then you shouldn’t have been so easy to tease.”

Like an obedient dog, Naruto was beside him in seconds. He hated to admit it, but he was totally in the palm of Sasuke’s hand. The Uchiha took the chance, put the wine down and rested his head on Naruto’s lap. By now, Naruto’s excitement had died down. Yet when Sasuke looked at him, he was about to get fired up again.

“Naruto, do you know why I agreed to dating you?”

All the excitement died down immediately, the blond felt the insecurities and fears he was hiding surface. Gulping down the fork in his throat, he shook his head.

“No, not really.”

“When I was with my mother doing her checkup, she told me a lot of stuff I didn’t know.” Sasuke started, eyes fixated on Naruto. “Apparently, she was the one who helped Itachi pull everything off. She didn’t like the way Itachi was living his life, so she tried to set him free. Of course, she’s still in contact with him –”

“So your brother’s alright?” Unconsciously, Naruto interrupted him.

“Very much so. She refused to tell me at first, but when I pressured her, she caved in. He’s living in an island actually and had opened a restaurant there. It was shocking, Itachi never mentioned that he liked cooking or wanted to specialize in it.” A tiny, soft smile showed on Sasuke’s lips as he spoke, “Yet now that I think about it, he was always spending his leisure time with our chef. I’m a little envious that I wasn’t the one who helped with his worries, but since he’s happy now and living the life he wanted, I guess everything’s okay.”

The blond started stroking Sasuke’s hair, rejoicing in the softness of the locks. “I’m glad everything worked out. So how about your father? Does he know about all this?”

“Mother said she told him, at first he lashed out and disowned Itachi... he was mad at her, too. But as time passed, he was regretting everything, little by little, he saw the error of his ways. My father was actually blind to a lot of things, he thought he was treating Itachi with care, but he was smothering him instead. He’s a man who won’t understand if you didn’t come right out and say your thoughts, so he never thought he was pressuring Itachi into anything. It all was clear when my mother told him, she said it was the first time she saw him cry.”

Naruto liked the gentle smile on Sasuke’s face, it made him feel closer to the other. “So… you still didn’t tell me why you agreed to go out with me.”

Sasuke shifted and sat back down. He supported his weight on one leg and left the other hanging lazily. With serious eyes, he addressed Naruto. “It was simple, actually. I did some soul-searching. I asked myself why I was so against dating you. In the past, I dated girls but it never worked out, they all would end up saying the same thing ‘Sasuke-kun, you’re different from your image’ and dump me. The bitterness of the break-up left a mark on my subconscious. It’s obvious that you like me, but how well could your feelings be trusted? Maybe it’s just a phase or a simple crush you’re having on someone you admire. Could I risk leaving another mark on myself if we break up? What if you end up saying the same things as those girls? On top of all those insecurities, I’ve never dated a guy for real. I did my share of fooling around, but there was no real relationship ever. So I have no experience in that field and as far as I could see, neither do you.”

Naruto nodded, trying not to show how jealous he was of Sasuke’s past hook-ups. “Yes, I don’t, Sasuke. But… I wanted to try with you.”

“I understand that now. Naruto, actually I like you a little more than you think I do.” Sasuke said with a little blush on his cheeks. “You’re someone different from all the people around me. You’re foolishly adorable and an idiot with a great love for football equal or even greater than mine. You’re a great friend, maybe one of the reasons why I refused you because I didn’t want to risk it, I didn’t want to lose your friendship. Love tends to ruin things. Neji once dated a close friend of his, when they broke up, he lost her from his life, ‘till this day, he regrets dating her.”

The blond rubbed the back of his head, thinking of the right words to say to ease Sasuke’s worries. However, he found none, so he spoke the truth.  
“Well, Sasuke, I can’t promise you that I’ll always be in your life, but I promise I will try my best not to leave. No one knows what the future holds, there are no guarantees that us going out will work out, maybe after a while we’d find out we’re better off as friends, however, like I said before, I want to try dating you. There are some things in life you need to try first before you decide.” He flashed one of his trademark grins. “Still, Sasuke, this feels right. I love having you in my life, you are smart, fun and most importantly, a great football player! You said love ruins relationships, right? I can’t see why you think that, my parents loved each other and I saw nothing but happiness, so do yours, they are supporting each other in the good and bad times.” Naruto continued. “There might be some toxic relationships out there, but that’s not the fault of love, it’s the fault of people misusing the emotion and abusing their partner. I would never abuse you, Sasuke, I will take good care of you… and I hope you would do the same.”

A serene smile showed on Sasuke’s face and he leaned in to capture Naruto’s lips in a kiss. “Spoken like a charmer.”

Naruto blushed and gathered his courage. “Sasuke, you shouldn’t tease me too much.”

Smirking at his boyfriend, the Uchiha licked his lips as he invited him. “Then show me what you’ve got.”

The little self-control Naruto was expressing, was thrown out the window as he jumped the Uchiha. On the hard couch, Sasuke was forced onto his back, Naruto hungrily kissed every exposed inch of him. Sloppy kisses were planted onto Sasuke’s lips, cheeks, eyes and temple. The onyx eyed male felt like he’s being eaten alive, the little puppy turned out to be a hungry fox. However, as he saw Naruto’s eyes cloud by pleasure, he realized it was too late to back down now. Besides, he was getting a little bit excited as well.

Burying his fingers in Naruto’s hair, he brought the blond down for a passionate kiss. Sasuke directed his tongue inside Naruto’s mouth and hit all the spots that made him moan, not a minute later, he felt Naruto’s tongue push against his own lips. Sasuke allowed the battle to take place inside his mouth, his boyfriend proved to be a fast learner, he was able to perfectly copy Sasuke’s technique, resulting in a set of excited groans to be released. A trail of saliva was connecting them as they parted for air.

“Bed, let’s go to bed…” Sasuke whispered as the hard couch was honestly killing him.

Naruto nodded without saying anything. They stumbled to the bedroom, then slumped on the bed, Naruto continued attacking Sasuke, yet this time, the raven haired Uchiha stopped him forcibly. He took a minute to take off his shirt – since he feared Naruto would rip his expensive shirt in his blind excitement – and gestured Naruto to take off his jersey, as well. Happily, the blond obliged, he didn’t know what took over him, but the nervousness he was experiencing totally vanished the minute he saw Sasuke’s pale skin. His eyes lingered a little bit, savoring the image in his mind.

Sasuke felt a little bit neglected, he pulled and flipped the tables, putting Naruto on the bed and straddling him. One hand was playing with the blond’s body while the other touched the bulge that was forming downstairs. When Naruto realized his manhood was about to be groped, alarm went off inside his head and he took hold of Sasuke’s hand, blushing profusely.

“S-Sasuke… what are you doing?”

Sasuke smirked as he put a finger on Naruto’s lips. His hair was covering his eyes and a black pupil was seen in the dark lit room. He whispered as his hand continued touching Naruto’s bulge.

“Huuush, I’ll take you to heaven~”

Slowly, almost sinfully, Sasuke unzipped Naruto’s jeans, he saw a huge stain on the forefront of the boxers and his smirk widened. Rubbing the hard cock through the fabric gave him a sense of pleasure, Naruto bit back his voice as his body responded to Sasuke’s strokes. He wanted to stop that pale hand but for the love of him, he couldn’t muster a courage. Just when he thought it was over, Sasuke released Naruto’s cock from the boxers and bare skin met the throbbing member.

The black haired Uchiha whistled. “You’re a big boy, Naruto.”

Naruto’s blush deepened as he tried to stifle another moan. “Mmm… t-thank you... I... guess…”

Sasuke took out Naruto’s hard member and started stroking it up and down, the blond was forced to keep quiet as Sasuke thrust two of his fingers inside his mouth, smearing them with Naruto’s saliva, just when he saw tears roll up Naruto’s eyes, he took them out and leaned down to capture his lips in an adoring kiss. All the while, he kept a hard hold on Naruto’s dick. The blond wasn’t that accustomed to anyone holding him like that, he himself hadn’t masturbated as much as his peers – he was always running around playing football and whenever he’d get a hard-on, he’d tiredly sleep it off – so he was at a loss of what to do.

Sasuke pressed on the head of his penis, causing Naruto to shriek out and cum all over his hands. They were both startled by the fast, unexpected cum. Naruto felt his embarrassment return doubled. Sasuke snickered on top of him and left no room for his boyfriend to hide.

“Naruto, Hahaha that was… so fast!”

“…P-Please, no more.” The blond covered his face with both hands, trying to disappear if possible.

The raven haired Uchiha removed Naruto’s hands from his eyes and directed them to his own groin. Naruto felt the hot throbbing member underneath Sasuke’s jeans respond to his touch.

“We’re continuing, I didn’t cum yet.”

Naruto gulped as he massaged the bulge in Sasuke’s jeans, with the erotic moans Sasuke was making, his dick returned to life in less than a minute. He was too focused on Sasuke’s face that he was oblivious to his pales hands, secretly putting a condom on his dick. Suddenly, Sasuke stripped naked, Naruto’s eyes glued to Sasuke’s cock. It wasn’t as thick as his, but it was longer and veiny. Sasuke’s pubic hair was very soft, falling around his member and highlighting the pale skin. Naruto felt his mouth water and eagerness ran through him.

This time, he boldly took hold of Sasuke’s penis, and tried to think of how to make him feel good. A couple of minutes passed and Naruto did nothing, when Sasuke saw Naruto’s head overheat, he rolled his eyes and mumbled under his breath. “Really, virgins are a headache.”

“Sasu –!”

His words were sealed by a kiss, Naruto’s hands were linked with Sasuke’s as he kissed the life out of him. Before the blond passed out from over excitement, Sasuke broke the kiss and instructed.

“Listen, from now on, I will be leading. What I’m going to do would be a one-time thing, don’t think I’ll always be a neko. I’m willingly choosing to take this burden off your shoulders… be grateful!”

Naruto was puzzled as to what the other meant, yet before he was able to voice his wonders, he saw Sasuke take the fingers that he’d immersed in saliva and add some lotion from his nightstand, then insert them into his asshole. At that moment, Naruto forgot how to breathe, he watched hooked as his boyfriend gave him the perfect service.

“You better ummm…pay attention… huuumm…”

The blond did some research about sex between males when he was interested in Sasuke, but in his head, he thought they were still far off from it. Never would he have guessed Sasuke would end up on top of him so soon. Gulping, he felt his dick about to explode. The western porn he’d watched didn’t come close to how sexy Sasuke was right now, he looked as two fingers fit inside Sasuke’s hole.

“Umm… S-Sasuke, can I help?” He asked when he saw a pained expression show on Sasuke’s face.

The raven haired male didn’t respond, having full concentration on what he was doing.

Naruto looked at his throbbing member and cringed at the sight, it was getting bigger by the second, he’d end up hurting Sasuke like this. The last thing he wanted to do was cause their first time to become a trauma. When he came close to the Uchiha, Sasuke smacked his hands away and ordered.

“S-Stay put, don’t touch me now.”

Naruto was a little dejected, but he allowed the other his leisure. He watched patiently as Sasuke introduced yet another finger inside, currently he wasn’t able to maintain a sitting position, so he was lying with his fingers stretching his insides. Naruto wiped the blood that was about to leave his nose and tried not to stare, because one wrong look and he’d end up spurting again.

“Uhhuu… ahhh… haa…”

The blond lost it at that, he looked and was met with a flushed Sasuke, even his ears were red. His eyes were half-lidded and there were tears falling down his cheeks, Naruto wasn’t sure the Uchiha could see him through the foggy eyes now. Finding his courage, he came close to Sasuke and licked the tears falling from the sides of his eyes, Sasuke gave a small smile and whispered.

“Naruto…”

The blond took that chance and leaned in to kiss him tenderly, he patted Sasuke’s head softly and trailed kisses down his neck. Gently, his fingers circled a nipple and he started playing with it. The blond wasn’t sure if Sasuke could feel pleasure from it, but he hoped he did. Abruptly he felt the raven haired male pull on his arm, then Sasuke’s legs circled around his midsection.

“Now… enter me, Naruto, but slowly...”

His face flushed and he felt heat radiate off of him, Naruto kissed Sasuke lovingly and nodded. Stationing himself before the other’s entrance, he prepared his thumping heart. Noticing that his cock had a condom on, he blinked the small detail, impressed that his boyfriend put it on him without him realizing. As he focused, his mind started racing, Sasuke was giving him his all, preparing himself carefully for Naruto, he should do this right, he couldn’t hurt him, he shouldn’t make this a bad experience, he shouldn’t –

“Stop thinking.” Naruto was jolted from his inner anxiety at the stern tone of Sasuke, his eyes glazed at the other and Sasuke encouraged. “Don’t think of anything, Naruto… relax and go in slow, don’t worry, I prepared beforehand, it will be alright.”

Naruto bit his lips, what was he doing getting Sasuke to encourage him at this point? He was a man, why was he getting scared right now? Sasuke was right, there was no need to be nervous, this was an act of love, Sasuke was giving himself up because he loved him. He shouldn’t feel pressured, but grateful. Sasuke trusted him. As his worries started evaporating little by little, Naruto softly made his way inside Sasuke’s hole.

There was a little bit of resistance and Sasuke’s face twisted in pain, but Naruto kept going in. The tightness was unreal, he felt his member twitch and his heart rate increase. Now, half of his dick was inside, he waited until Sasuke seemed to get used to his length then pushed inside some more. With every push, he gave a few minutes for Sasuke to adjust. Finally, all of his dick was engulfed in Sasuke’s heat, Naruto looked amazed at the human body.  
Never would he have guessed his big member would fit inside Sasuke’s tight hole, yet here it was, blazingly so.

“N-Naruto,” Sasuke spoke almost out of breath. “You c-can…ughh…move.”

The blond nodded and gradually started moving. His thrusts were unhurried at first since there was still resistance from Sasuke’s insides. It was a place for stuff to come out not for things to go in, so he expected as much. Naruto understood the rejection those muscles were expressing, he was a foreign object invade their secure environment, but as he continued thrusting, the resistance was getting lesser, as if the muscles got used to his presence. He smiled as he thought of how Sasuke was like that as well, in the beginning he was cold to him, but slowly he opened up.

“Uhmmmnn…. Uahh…. Mmm….”

The moans reaching his ears told him that he was doing a good job, he continued with speed and force, quickly his own groans matched Sasuke’s. They were sweating like crazy, getting down to kiss Sasuke felt like normal, and not wanting to neglect Sasuke’s throbbing member, Naruto tried to use one hand to stroke the head of Sasuke’s dick. It was the place that made him feel good, so he hoped the same worked for Sasuke.

Unfortunately, with every thrust he made, his own member couldn’t take the pressure anymore and without meaning to, Naruto cummed for the second time before Sasuke. His face paled as his dick slid out of his boyfriend.

Panting for air, Sasuke looked at the blond and his limp dick and commented. “…Naruto, you’re way too fast.”

Naruto wanted to die right then and there, he quickly started stroking his dick but it was to no avail. He was too embarrassed that his penis didn’t respond to any of his stimulation. Soon tears were gushing out of his eyes, he heard the bed creak and saw Sasuke stand up. Swiftly, he held him back.

“Wait! Where are you going?”

Sasuke looked at him and didn’t even mince his words. “To the bathroom, virgin, you cummed twice, I haven’t even cummed once. You don’t expect me to sleep with a hard-on, do you?”

“Err… no, I don’t, I’ll help you with it! Just give me a minute!” Naruto desperately halted.

Sasuke’s expression softened at the droopy eyes, he pulled his boyfriend to a kiss before gently expressing himself. “Listen, I’m not mad, it’s perfectly fine that you ejaculate fast… I’m that good. Besides, it’s your first time, my first time was similar… however, I made her cum at least.”

The Uchiha’s was a little naughty at the end, and his words made his boyfriend want to bawl his eyes out again.

“Please, allow me to make you cum!”

The determination in those blue orbs was one of the things that drew Sasuke to Naruto, Sasuke simpered and hopped back on bed, with open arms and a throbbing cock, he allowed his boyfriend the luxury of bringing him to ecstasy. This time Naruto didn’t use his mind, he used his instinct. If his member wasn’t obliging with him, he’d use something else. He sat on the foot of Sasuke’s legs and drew him close, until his ass was facing Naruto’s face. Sasuke blushed at the daring position but didn’t voice any objections.

Naruto observed the place his dick was thrusting a few minutes ago and licked his lips. Extending a tongue out, he licked the area around Sasuke’s entrance. The smell of his cum was still very strong, mixing with Sasuke’s natural scent, it was musky and Naruto didn’t feel himself hating it. Softly he introduced his tongue inside, closing his eyes, he concentrated on giving Sasuke the best service he could ever hope for.

It didn’t take long after that for Sasuke to reach orgasm, Naruto’s tongue was magical, even though it wasn’t skilled, it had a proper sense. Naruto also used his fingers alongside his tongue to reach Sasuke’s prostate. The raven haired male came all over Naruto’s face and his own stomach, clutching the sheets as his lips quavered in delight. The thick cum dripped from Naruto’s locks and he blushed when he saw Sasuke sprayed with the white liquid all over him. Sasuke’s face looked satisfied as he praised.

“Well done, Uzumaki~”

Naruto reddened more and kissed Sasuke but the raven haired player stopped him. With knotted brows, the blond questioned. “What?”

“You were just eating my ass; we’re not kissing until you brush that mouth of yours.”

Puffing his cheeks, Naruto sulked. “It’s not that bad, a little kiss won’t hurt.”

“No means no, besides,” Sasuke smirked as he flicked the semi-hard-on of Naruto. “If I kissed you now, we’d go for another round and I’m tired. So go please take care of that in the bathroom, don’t forget to brush your teeth.”

Naruto’s face was as red as a tomato now, quickly he scrambled out the room. All the way forcing his heart to be still and his mind to catch up with what they have done just then.

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Thank you for reading, the upcoming chapter would be the last one~


	6. The End

The upcoming week, Naruto lived in a daze. His mind kept replaying events of the night he lost his virginity, every time a scene would play out, he’d turn red and enter another daze, it reached to a point where his performance in the field was affected. Neji had asked numerous times if something was wrong; yet the blond continued giggling like a school girl with flowers spurting all around, saying he was perfectly fine. Finally, the one who was able to conclude that Naruto had gotten laid was Gaara, he said it as a snide remark, but as the blond turned beat red, the two realized Gaara had hit home.

Sasuke on the other hand continued treating Naruto with the same indifference as always. As if that night meant nothing to him, the blond was a little bit irritated at it in the beginning, but when he realized that that was how Sasuke dealt with being shy, he rejoiced. Currently, Naruto was cleaning the balls on the field as a punishment for not paying attention at training. Sasuke came to help his boyfriend, not wanting him to suffer alone. The blond smiled, realizing how much of a softie Sasuke truly was. He would insult Naruto, but would be the first to help when he needed him. A true tsundere, resembling a jellyfish that played the role of shark. It didn’t bother Naruto, in fact, he thought it was endearing.

“Let’s go, Naruto, that’s the last ball.” Sasuke commented as he threw said ball to the designated basket.

The blond nodded and followed after him. They went to change, in a matter of fifteen minutes, both were out of the locker room and the club. Smiling like a content cat, Naruto whispered.

“Sasuke, do you want to come over tonight?”

“No, I have to work tomorrow,” The reply was abrupt, without hesitation. “We are launching a new project at the company again.”

Naruto remembered how busy his boyfriend was the last time he had a project and nodded. “Aha, okay then… I’ll come visit.”

“No, you can’t. You have an exam three days from now, study.” Sasuke scolded.

“It’s not that big of a deal, I can pass without much work.”

“You said that the last time and you failed, remember you need a certain amount of credit to pass the year. Even if you’re set on changing majors, that won’t work if you can’t pass your first year.”

Naruto looked at his boyfriend then wrinkled his nose. “Sasuke… you sound like a nagging mom.”

A smack was delivered to his head. “Don’t jinx my future kids, they won’t be as stupid as you!”

Suddenly the footsteps of Naruto stopped and he looked with a puzzled look at Sasuke. “Umm… Sasuke, you want kids?”

As if asked a stupid question, the raven haired Uchiha answered. “Hah!? Of course, I want kids. I need to continue my family’s name.”

“Is that the only reason? There’s still Itachi, he can do that.”

Sasuke frowned and asked with a scowl. “Wait, don’t tell me you don’t want kids?”

Sheepishly, Naruto rubbed the back of his head. “I… I never thought about it, isn’t it kinda early to think of kids? I’m still in my first year of school, I don’t even know what my major would be.”

The Uchiha continued walking. “I’m not telling you to have kids right now, I’m just saying, haven’t you ever thought about becoming a father? I mean… didn’t you ever think stuff like ‘when I become a father, I’d never do this to my kids or I’ll teach them this’?”

Naruto thought hard about this and a certain memory floated to his head, he was still in the orphanage and Iruka was still not allowed to adopt him. At that time, it’s not that he thought he wanted to have children and be a father, no, he simply wished for a big family. He always thought that if he had siblings, his life wouldn’t be as lonely as it used to be. It was a little different from Sasuke’s analogy, but he understood where his boyfriend came from. However, a sad reality washed over him.

“Then, Sasuke, does that mean you’ll break up with me?”

For the second time that night, the Uchiha looked at his boyfriend as if he was the stupidest being on Earth. “Do you want to break up with me?”

“No! You know I never want to!” Naruto clutched his sports bag with determined eyes, trying to convey his sincerity.

“Then there’s no reason for us to.”

“But you want kids,” He dejectedly spoke. “Two men can’t have children.”

“Naruto, you’re really old fashioned. Who told you two men can’t have children? There are a lot of ways for that to happen. The extreme being to have one of us carry the baby, I heard some men did this, but in those cases they had a uterus… hmm… maybe that won’t work, anyhow,” The black eyed male trailed off, “It’s better to go with either surrogacy or adoption.”

Naruto was startled when he heard about a man being pregnant, but he ignored it and thought hard. “I prefer surrogacy, because if we have kids, I want them to have your blood or mine.”

“Blood relationships aren’t that important, Naruto, you should know that best.” Sasuke smiled softly at this.

The blond returned the smile. “I know, I’m not saying not to adopt, it’d be cool to give a loving home to someone who needs it, but I still want a kid who has your genes at least.”

Sasuke felt a small blush show on his face, he walked to his boyfriend and gave him a small kiss, some passersby gave the two odd looks but neither cared.  
“I guess this is all in the future, for now you need to study and pass your exam.” The Uchiha said as he yawned. “Come, I’ll drop you off before I go home.”  
Naruto smiled and hurried to the side of his boyfriend. “Coming~”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Neji put the band on the tip of his braided hair and flung it over his shoulder, his eyes looked at his best friend with indifference. He didn’t understand why Sasuke was so embarrassed, after all, it wasn’t like it was their first time discussing sex. He asked one of the servants to bring them some refreshment while his companion got his act together.

“So? I don’t have the whole day, Sasuke, answer me,” He urged, having reached the end of his rope.

Sasuke fidgeted as he fixed his posture, feeling a little unsettling, he resigned and answered with a blush. “It was… awesome, Neji.”

A bright smile with full teeth was shown to him, the lilac eyed male congratulated. “That’s wonderful, then! I didn’t think Naruto-kun would be that good, I guess you can’t judge a book by its cover.”

“No, no, he was horrible,” Sasuke corrected. “I prepared beforehand like you told me, but he was too excited, came too fast and –”

“Did you use the lotion I recommended? It should have loosened you off properly.” Neji interrupted before his friend dove further into his night.

Sasuke nodded, his embarrassment slowly diminishing. “Yes, it was uncomfortable, I did it at home for two hours before I went to his place. But even so, it was hard for him to enter, I thought he’d slide right in…”

“Of course he won’t slide right in, you underestimate your asshole, Sasuke.” Neji cringed at his choice of words and laughed. “Sounds weird, anyways, do continue.”

“There’s nothing more to say, Naruto was bad in the beginning, but he learns fast, he picked up on my techniques really well, after that the sex was good for a few minutes, but he came fast. I don’t deny, I was a little annoyed, but I understood it…”

“Yeah, you shouldn’t have expected him not to cum, so what happened?”

“I was about to go relieve myself in the bathroom, but unexpectedly he decided to help me.”

“A blowjob? A handjob? What?” Neji urged when Sasuke stayed silent not feeling like sharing.

Sasuke’s eyes glinted as he smirked. “Nope, he ate my ass.”

The brunet whistled a little bit amazed. “Wooow, who knew~? Naruto-kun way to go.”

There was a feeling of pride willing inside Sasuke, it was weird to feel proud of something like that, but a happy sex-life was fundamental to a happy relationship.

“You know, Neji, I’m impressed and slightly relieved that I was the first person to have sex with him, can you imagine if his first had horrible sex techniques? I’d suffer trying to correct them, writing on a white paper is always better.”

“…Sasuke, it sounds like you’re training a dog, not a person.”

The Uchiha raised a brow. “Is there a difference?”

Neji sweat-dropped, he was about to refute but then a picture of Naruto wriggling happily and running behind Sasuke flashed in his head, he stopped his words, Naruto really was like an overgrown dog tagging behind his master. The lilac eyed Neji chose to say another thing.

“There was something piquing my interest when you asked me for help, Sasuke,”

“Shoot.”

They had to hold their conversation when a servant brought them their refreshments, Neji’s eyes sparkled when he saw the strawberry shortcake, it was his favorite little delight. It wasn’t a secret that the handsome Hyuuga had a sweet tooth. Neji continued his conversation once they were alone.

“See, why did you want to bottom? You were always a hardcore top. I mean, all your male one nightstands were nekos. I thought there would be a power-struggle between you two,” Neji chuckled. “I even was going to train Naruto-kun to be your perfect neko.”

Sasuke sweat-dropped at this, he felt shivers run down his spine. Neji was the perfect gentleman, but he also had a hidden dark side, unfortunately, it showed vividly during sex. The first time Sasuke learnt about this, was when he walked in on him and Gaara engaging in some hardcore master-servant play. It took the raven haired male a couple of days until he could look them in the eye. If Neji was to really train Naruto, then… then… Sasuke felt his nerves flare a little when he imagined it. Naruto in a cute maid outfit, writhing under him, tied to the bed, begging for release.

Maybe getting Neji to train Naruto wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

“Oi, oi, what are you getting all hot and bothered about?” Neji smirked.

Sasuke quickly caught himself and coughed, pushing the very tempting fantasy to the back of his head. “A-Anyway, to answer you, when I realized I wanted to go out with him, sex seemed natural. Naruto is a total virgin, I’m sure he doesn’t even masturbate as much –”

A loud laugh escaped the brunet’s lips, interrupting Sasuke for the umpteenth time that morning. “Right, right! I sensed it the first time I met him, he’s really pure! Makes you want to pamper him and raise him right, like a little puppy~!”

“Yeah, that’s why I wanted to take his virginity. I wanted him to experience the pleasure of penetration. It just didn’t feel right for his first sexual experience to be me fucking him.”

“But you’re good at it if the rumors are true. You’d have given him the perfect first time.”

Sasuke nodded. “I would have, but I still wanted to take his. Don’t worry about it, it’s not like I’m going to bottom all the time,” A devilish smirk showed on Sasuke’s face. “I’d have him think he has the power, but slowly, I’ll train his hole to take me in.”

Neji shuddered at the hellish look. “Sasuke, you’re really twisted, I feel bad for Naruto-kun.”

“I don’t want to be told that by someone who makes his boyfriend lick his shoes.”

“Oh, he loves it. I’d never do anything that Gaara won’t enjoy. You should try to dominate Naruto-kun, I can lend you some toys, if you want to.”

Shaking his head. “No, thank you, I don’t want to use something you touched. By the way, where’s Gaara? I thought you two were joint at the hip?”

“You would think that, but no. His siblings are in town; he’s showing them around.”

“Makes sense.”

With that they finished their conversation, Sasuke excused himself afterwards, took the papers he’d come originally to take and left the Hyuuga household. His father and the Hyuuga head were always doing business together, so sometimes when important papers or projects needed to be discussed, Sasuke would go himself to speak with the Hyuuga head. At times, Neji would be there and he’d enjoy a little chat with him. When he was a kid, he knew there was conflict inside the Hyuuga household, yet afterwards, he learnt that it ended when Neji made it clear that the next heir would be Hinata; he won’t disobey her and would act as her adviser. Besides, he wanted to become a doctor, running companies and the such wasn’t his calling. He always spoke in the favor of his cousin, Sasuke respected that side of him; it was one of the reasons he considered the brunet a worthy friend.

Sasuke was in the same class as Neji in middle school, after his little incident, he was held back to a different year. Even so, Neji continued being a loyal friend, never abandoning Sasuke or severing their ties. Having the lilac eyed male close, was one of the reasons Sasuke pulled himself together from his inner turmoil.

As Sasuke rode his car, he thought of stopping at Naruto’s apartment, but when a call came signaling how he was needed at work, he sighed and returned back to his original destination.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Naruto, do you want to go to a mixer?”

The blond blinked at the pink haired girl and tilted his head. “A mixer?”

“Yes,” Sakura nodded and explained further. “It’s kinda last minute I know, but we are missing one guy. There should’ve been five girls and five guys, but one of the guys called just now to cancel, since I’m the one who has organized it, I’m in trouble. I need your help!”

They were sitting in the cafeteria after their first lectures have ended, Naruto smiled sheepishly and shook his head.

“I’m sorry, senpai, I’m not interested.”

Sakura groaned aloud. “Why not? You don’t have a girlfriend and it’s been a while for me, please, Naruto,” Sakura pleaded hard. “Don’t worry every girl is very cute, I handpicked them especially! There’s no one else I can ask! You don’t need to do anything, just show up and drink then go home. If you don’t want a girlfriend, don’t get one!”

The blond could feel a headache forming, he really should stand his ground and refuse, but he couldn’t just blurt out that he was going out with Sasuke, as well. Feeling cornered under Sakura’s immense begs, the blond caved. Sakura cheered and told him the time and place where the group would meet. Naruto felt like he was betraying his boyfriend, but thinking that he wouldn’t really be doing anything wrong, he stifled the feeling of guilt.

As night came around, the mixer was only an hour away, for Naruto’s luck, he wasn’t able to meet with Sasuke that day. The Business Faculty was having exams, so he couldn’t encounter Sasuke as frequently as he used to. As the time came for the mixer, Naruto looked at his reflection in the mirror and walked out of the apartment, satisfied with his appearance. He got to the place on time, true to what Sakura said, the girls present were very cute and beautiful, if Naruto was single, he would have brought one home.

A few rounds of drinks started, there was a girl with short black hair who sat next to him, she seemed interested in him. Naruto tried to stay away from her, but she kept on approaching him, he didn’t want to appear rude, but at the same time he didn’t want to do something that would damage his relationship with Sasuke, that’s why he ended up drinking until he couldn’t know what’s what.

The last thing he saw before totally passing out was the dissatisfied look on Sasuke’s face as he hauled him to his car.

There was a sound of buzzing that just wouldn’t shut up, Naruto felt around for his alarm clock, but the place where his alarm should be at was empty. When he was getting annoyed, he opened his eyes and was startled when the setting to his room had changed. Blinking a few times, he felt around another time until he was able to find the switch to the light, suddenly the room illuminated and he was met with one familiar bedroom. Navy blue was all around him, he quickly found the annoying alarm clock and silenced it. The time read four in the morning, he frowned at the odd time that this alarm was set to.

Looking around, there was no one lying there beside him. This was indeed Sasuke’s room, then where was Sasuke? Naruto felt his head throb as he got out of bed, why was he in Sasuke’s house in the first place? He walked some more and entered the bathroom, a soft smile showed on his face when he saw Sasuke lying inside the Jacuzzi, seemingly relaxing his tired muscles.

“Hey, there.”

The raven haired male looked up from his relaxed posture and acknowledged his boyfriend with a nod. “You’re up?”

“Your alarm woke me, why did you set it so early?”

“I have to review some questions before the exam.”

Naruto walked inside and sat on the side of the Jacuzzi, he wiped the water under Sasuke’s eyes and said. “You have dark circles here; you haven’t been sleeping much.”

“I will sleep when I’m done.”

The blond leaned down to kiss but Sasuke stopped him. “You’re banned from kissing me for a week.”

Blinking at the odd sentence, Naruto tilted his head to the side. “Might I ask why?”

“You went to a mixer, flirting behind my back, how shameless.” There was a look of irritation inside Sasuke’s eyes. “I don’t like being cheated on.”

Naruto quickly started defending himself. “Sasuke, I didn’t cheat! It was Sakura-senpai, she pressured me into going, I was helping her, if there was a way I could’ve refused, I would have!”

“Throwing the blame on someone else doesn’t absolve you,” The raven haired male’s tone was neutral. “Why didn’t you tell me about it? If you weren’t doing anything wrong, then there’s no fault in sharing.”

The blond looked at the ground as he said. “I… I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t want anything to distract you from studying. I know you have important exams now, knowing that I was at a mixer might cause you to get distracted.”

Sasuke got out of the Jacuzzi and turned it off. Naruto blushed at the sight of his naked body, he drooled a little before Sasuke put on some robe. “Well, that consideration of yours was useless. At the end, you called me all drunk and asked me to come get you. Do you know how annoying it was to see you cling to those girls?”

Naruto stood up and was beside his boyfriend in a second, “Sasuke, you’re the only one for me, if I really wanted them, I wouldn’t have called you to get me. Please, trust me!”

“I trust you, but I don’t trust them.” Sasuke took a step and came face to face with Naruto, his tone changed becoming a little sharp. “You should know, Uzumaki, I’m a very possessive person. I don’t like sharing. You are mine and as long as we are together, I advise you to carve that in the depth of your soul.”

Even though Sasuke was obviously angry, Naruto couldn’t help but laugh and grin. He closed the distance between them with a passionate kiss, ignoring Sasuke’s previous comment about no-kissing. “I know, baby, I’m yours and you’re mine. There’s no one taking me away from you and, to prove my love,”  
The blond stopped talking and kissed Sasuke’s neck, sneaking a hand under Sasuke’s robe, he played with his dick. Sasuke struggled in the beginning, but after a while, he resigned to pleasure. Naruto untied the robe and exposed Sasuke’s alluring body, he grinned when he saw Sasuke’s member stand proud. It’d been a while since they did anything sexual, the sight alone was driving him crazy. Not able to withstand touching alone, Naruto kneeled beside the throbbing cock and took it inside his mouth, he heard Sasuke’s breath hitch. A smirk showed on his lips, but it soon vanished as he worked his techniques, careful not to bite, he started to give his boyfriend a blowjob. Kissing and sucking softly on Sasuke’s dick, Naruto played with the dangling ball sac until a moan left Sasuke’s sealed lips.

Pre-cum was soon filling his mouth, Naruto felt Sasuke thrust his hips into his mouth, he steadied the hips and signaled Sasuke to relax and leave it to him. Smearing his index finger with Sasuke’s pre-cum, Naruto introduced it inside Sasuke’s asshole. Right now, it wasn’t that hard for his finger to enter Sasuke, Naruto didn’t want to have sex with his boyfriend – seeing as how the other didn’t have time – he simply wanted to give him another jolt of pleasure. He twirled his finger until he felt Sasuke’s member twitch in his mouth. Going up and down the dick, Naruto gave a long, hard suck to Sasuke’s tip and in the same time, his finger pressed on Sasuke’s prostate.

“Ummm… Naruto… I’m … I’m coming…!”

Sasuke’s breathing was ragged and his whole body quivered, he came shortly after his declaration. The blond didn’t move and allowed the white semen to smear the inside of his mouth. Naruto looked up, his eyes locked onto Sasuke as he swallowed the thick cum.

“Delicious~”

The raven haired male blushed against his will, then rolled his eyes. “…Don’t spurt nonsense, cum is bitter.”

The blond smiled and stood up, it was apparent that Sasuke wasn’t playing with himself as much as he had thought. Probably being too busy to tend to his needs. Grinning, Naruto looked to his boyfriend with sparkling eyes.

“Do you believe me now?”

Sasuke sighed at the simplicity of Naruto’s thinking, believing there was no need to be angry anymore, he brushed his hair out of his eyes and replied. “Stupid Naruto, I do. It would be hard not to after that awesome job you just gave me. However, I need to take another shower now.”

The blond’s grin widened, his invisible tail wiggled as he chirped. “Then let’s take one together!”

Sasuke ignored the big puppy eyes, put his hand on Naruto’s face and kicked him out of the bathroom. “No can do, you’d end up fucking me if I let you, you perverted fox!”

Naruto had no retort to that because the bulge in his pants was evidence enough, sighing, he returned to the bed and started masturbating. For now, he’d satisfy himself with his right hand, until Sasuke is done with his exams, then he’d try his luck again to get into the other’s pants.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“‘Chicken-Butt’? Who is ‘Chicken-Butt’?” Iruka blinked at the odd caller ID in Naruto’s phone.

The blond smirked and answered his phone. “It’s Sasuke, Iruka. Oh, hi, Sasuke, what do you need?”

Iruka watched his son go inside his room to chat, he shrugged at the strange nickname but said nothing. He could never understand what really went on inside Naruto’s head, from early on, the burnet had decided not to question certain areas in Naruto’s behavior. Five minutes later, his son came out from his room.

“Iruka, is it alright if Sasuke comes to have lunch with us?”

The burnet nodded with a smile. “He’s more than welcome to, I’ll make another serving for him.”

“Thanks.”

“You have gotten close to him, I am glad you’re finally making a close friend, Naruto.”

At his comment, Naruto’s face turned serious. He plopped on the sofa next to his father and started. “Umm… Dad, there’s something I need to tell you. I’m not sure how to say it and I don’t want you to see me in a different way, but I just hate hiding this from you… I mean… umm, I wasn’t really trying to hide it per se, but there was never a right moment… I guess that’s not it either… ummm…”

The brunet quickly understood the importance of the situation, Naruto never rumbled on like that unless it was big. It was like his son’s brain couldn’t decipher important things so he always struggled trying to convey his emotions. Iruka closed the TV screen and gave all his attention to him. With a reassuring tone, he made the blond feel safe and loved.

“Naruto, there’s nothing that you can ever do that will make me see you differently. I’m your father, I love you unconditionally so relax and tell me what’s on your mind.”

Naruto smiled at his words but he was still fidgeting, he trusted that Iruka wouldn’t abandon him, but it was still nerve-wracking. Finally, gathering all his courage, he looked the older male in the eyes and said.

“It’s about Sasuke, the thing is… um… I …. We are…”

“What is it, Naruto? Is there a problem between you two? Did you fight?”

“No, no, no such thing,” He held his hands denying. “It’s the opposite really, we are getting along well… too well in fact.”

“Hmmm, that’s good then. So what’s the problem?” Iruka frowned, not catching what Naruto was trying to say.

“I… I… IRUKA, I’M DATING SASUKE!”

Naruto didn’t mean to shout out loud but by the time he pulled his courage to speak, his control on his volume was diminished. Opening his closed eyes, he looked at Iruka’s expression, his father looked surprised but that surprise was soon going down.

“I… I see.” Iruka’s face was passive as his words.

Naruto waited for another reaction, but when nothing else came, he enquired. “Umm… Dad, you’re not disgusted?”

A laugh broke free from Iruka’s lips and he said. “Naruto, I watched you play with your poop and eat it, I would hardly be disgusted by who you chose to love. Though I am surprised, have you always liked guys?”

Naruto shook his head frantically. “No, I’m sure I always crushed on girls… but I don’t really know, I guess I can go for both since I’m dating Sasuke now. But with him, it’s different, it’s like it doesn’t matter what gender he is, I love him because he’s Sasuke. Man, a woman or whatever… as long as he’s Sasuke then I’d fall in love.”

Iruka stroked his son’s hair and smiled tenderly. “I’m glad you grew up to be like this, Naruto.”

“Irukaaa” The blond jumped his father and hugged the hell out of him, his voice was jittery and cracked as he added. “I’m so happy you’re my father!”

“Me too, Naruto, me too.” Iruka stroked Naruto’s hair and allowed the silent tears his son was harboring to fall. Naruto was probably more nervous than he let on, the brunet mangaka understood it. They have never really spoken about relationships, Iruka thought Naruto wasn’t interested in anything besides football, he smiled to himself, how wrong was he. As Naruto pulled away, he said to him.

“So since you’re dating now, I guess we need to have the sex-talk, don’t we?”

Naruto felt his face heat up and he shook his head. “No, no, we don’t! We absolutely don’t!”

Frowning at his son’s reaction, Iruka instructed. “Listen, Naruto, I won’t be a prude and tell you not to have sex, or wait until you’re married, but you need protection! Don’t underestimate STDs! Use condoms and be careful, you and Sasuke-kun need to schedule yearly tests as well to make sure everything’s alright. There’s nothing wrong with having sex, but have safe-sex.”

The blond rolled his eyes at his father’s advice and nodded. “I know, I know! I had sex-ED in school, Iruka! Please, don’t give me the sex-talk!”

“Humph, being safe is the most important thing. Besides, Naruto, who is the bottom between you two?”

Now, Naruto’s ears had steam come out of them, he stood up and quickly escaped to his room. “I’m going to study, bye, Iruka!”

The brunet rolled his eyes at his son’s reaction and sighed, he now realized how old Naruto got. Finally finding a partner and falling in love, Iruka never expected Naruto to pat for the same team, but as he told him, it didn’t matter to him who he wanted to date. As long as Naruto was happy, Iruka was happy. He flicked the TV back on, before deciding to go to the kitchen and start preparing lunch for three.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Naruto, I always wanted to ask you but I forget, why don’t you ever talk about your middle school days?” Sasuke probed, holding a cup of tea in one hand and flipping through Naruto’s photo album with the other.

Iruka was very kind as to give him the album of Naruto’s childhood to get better acquainted with the blond. The raven haired male had his doubts, but finally Naruto confessed to telling his father. Sasuke didn’t really mind, he never wanted their relationship to be secretive, so for Naruto to tell his father wasn’t something that Sasuke abhorred.

“Well, it wasn’t a good time in my life, I guess…”

Sasuke put the cup down and hopped on the bed alongside Naruto, he was sitting on the floor comfortably, but he sensed that this conversation needed him to be closer to his boyfriend. Putting the album beside them, Sasuke spoke.

“Me too, remember when I told you there was an accident which made me repeat a year?”

“Yeah, you didn’t want to tell me about it back then.”

The black haired male nodded. “I think it’s alright now. Back then I was close to Itachi, I wanted to do everything he did. So I worked my ass off to enroll in the same middle school, basically I was following his footsteps. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize the big shadow that he has left behind, it was cast upon me by everyone. Everyone was comparing us, I hated the attention… I guess at that time, I started hating being his little brother. Itachi wasn’t in the wrong, he was a genius and I was a mere human. I soon began to question things; why did everyone expect me to become him? Didn’t they see me as me? Did I not matter if I wasn’t as excellent as Itachi? Many more questions like those arouse in me. Then one day, I got into a fight with one of the students, I don’t even remember what he said right now, but it was the last straw for me. I lost it and attacked him. I hit him so hard he was in the hospital for three months. I was very violent. If my parents weren’t involved, I’d have been sent to juvie.”

Naruto put a hand on Sasuke’s pale one and asked. “You don’t feel like that now, right?”

Smiling, he shook his head. “No, I think after I hit him and got all that black energy out, I started seeing everything as it truly was. Besides, Itachi he came and talked to me. I think he saw through my sudden burst of violence, he accepted me and saw the real me. I woke up then and realized that I was the one stifling myself, I was the one holding the noose and strangling myself. So when the school said I would be expelled for a year, I didn’t mind it. My parents wanted me to change schools – actually, they could have bribed the board not to expel me – but at that time, I thought a year off wouldn’t be so bad. I needed room to breathe and think straight.”

Sasuke felt Naruto hug him tightly, they fell back onto the bed and he returned the hug. While planting a kiss to Sasuke’s temple, Naruto whispered. “Sasuke, you’re so strong, I love you~!”

A melodious laugh left the black haired male’s mouth. “I love you, too. Do you realize, this is the first time you confess to me, Naruto?”

Naruto blinked with amazed eyes. “Eh, really? I thought I already said it.”

“Maybe you thought and felt it, but this is the first time you verbally express it.”

The blond drew Sasuke closer and kissed him a couple of times on the lips. “Then from now on, I’ll say it as much as you want, I love you, I love you, I love you~”

Sasuke’s laughs were like tunes to Naruto’s ears. “Naruto, as I said before, you’re such a girl and would always be.”

Pouting, the blond nipped on Sasuke’s ear. “Take it back or I’ll attack you now, Uchiha~!”

“Ohoo, look who’s threatening?”

“What will you do about it?”

Before they started goofing off again, Sasuke pushed against his boyfriend chest and said seriously. “Naruto, I don’t want to pressure you, but I’d appreciate it if you could tell me about the stuff you’re hiding. I have felt this for a while now, but there’s a part in your past you’re not telling me. If possible, I want you to know that no matter what happened, my feelings for you won’t change.”

Blue orbs got soft and Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke, returning him to the hug. After a while of silence, he whispered inside his ear his story.  
“It’s nothing really serious, I didn’t mean to hide it from you, Sasuke, but it’s something I chose to look away from. Remember when Iruka first met you? He said I don’t have friends. I usually laugh it off and steer away form that conversation, but I never had real friends before, Sasuke. When I was in elementary school, I lived with my parents then they died and I was taken to an orphanage, I was removed from my elementary school and had to go to another one near the orphanage. I couldn’t make friends because no one wanted anything to do with an orphan. I was alone and I had no problem with it, then I went to middle school, at that time Iruka was already my father. I think the first year was okay, halfway through my second year, Iruka decided he wanted to do a career-shift. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with that –”

“I know what that is.” Sasuke affirmed, a little annoyed that his boyfriend thought he didn’t know what a career-shift was.

“Then I’ll continue, we had little money so I couldn’t buy many of the things my classmates could. I didn’t want to be a burden to Iruka so I never asked for anything. Iruka was struggling to make ends meet, I couldn’t be selfish, so when my clothes got worn-out or my bag had holes in it, I just managed. Even when the school wanted us to bring new stuff or buy utensils, I tried my hardest not to ask Iruka… in the end, I was target for bullying. I guess human nature is to pry on the weak, I was the poor, friendless kid who knew nothing but how to play football. It didn’t bother me, the ball Iruka gifted me was my best friend. In my young head, I thought if I put up with it and ignored them, they’d stop. But that didn’t happen, it got very bad that my books were torn and finally, the teacher noticed. He phoned Iruka and a huge uproar happened. Iruka got very mad at me, the school and at himself when he realized how tattered I have been living.”

This time, it was Sasuke who held him close, Naruto smiled and enjoyed the warmth.

“To tell you the truth, that time wasn’t good for Iruka and I, if it’s possible I want to erase it from my memory. However, it’s an important part of my life, I realized then how much Iruka loves me… he was super mad and blamed himself, he even wanted to stop being a mangaka and return to his old job. When I saw how he was willing to throw his dream for me, I woke up.” Naruto’s eyes softened as he continued. “I mean, I had this awesome person who would do anything for me, but there I was, acting like the victim in my own story… I felt pathetic. From that time on, I didn’t hold back on anything I wanted, I tried to make Iruka feel how much I trusted and relied on him.”

“That’s great, Naruto.” Sasuke tenderly cheered.

“Umhum, I also knew that my love for football ran real deep. When I got into high school, there was no bullying, I was treated like everyone else but I still couldn’t make friends. I guess I was holding myself back and closing my heart to people. I realize now that friendship takes two to happen, I was unwilling to give my hand, that’s why I didn’t make a single friend.”

Sasuke stroked Naruto’s hair, before kissing him softly. “From now on, you don’t need to worry, I will be your best friend, and if possible, I will be with you for as long as I am allowed.”

Naruto grinned like a content fox. “Ditto, Sasuke~ I wish we can be in each other’s lives for a long time!”

“I love you, Naruto, thank you for being with me.”

The blond pinched Sasuke’s nose and laughed. “Who’s the girl now, Uchiha?”

With a roll to his charming eyes, Sasuke started goofing off with his boyfriend.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Naruto did his best to concentrate on the exam paper, a yawn escaped his lips. He couldn’t wait until the bell rang, he was sure most of his answers were correct, for two weeks now he was cramming like hell. If his effort wasn’t rewarded, he didn’t think he’d be able to finish the year. Besides, Sasuke had forbade any form of sexual contact for those last weeks, Naruto never thought he had such inclinations, but once introduced to the heaven of pleasure, it was hard to go without it. He sighed and reviewed his answers a last time, he was skeptical about a lot of the answers, but decided not to change them. He learnt from past experience how changing a fixed answer was always the wrong thing to do.

Finally, the bell rang and he was asked to hand in his paper. With a pounding heart, he gave it and exited the hall. The minute he was out, he saw a crowd of girls surrounding someone, a feeling of déjà vu washed over him and indeed, his boyfriend was leaning against a pillar with girls flocking all over him. Sasuke looked uninterested as always, Naruto heard the girls chat enthusiastically around him, some asking for dates, others for pictures together, but Sasuke acted as if they didn’t exist, his poker face unchanging.

Naruto felt a smile break on his face, his boyfriend was really indifferent, but he felt a little relief, when their eyes met, life seemed to vibrate inside Sasuke’s eyes and his face brightened. All the girls looked in awe at the rare expression, Naruto felt his heart quicken as a sense of superiority washed over him. Sasuke walked with sure steps and came to stand in front of him, his outfit was as fashionable as always. The blond was amazed as to why someone of his caliber would even agree to be with him.

“Naruto, how was your exam?”

Naruto was jolted out of his inner thoughts at the other’s deep voice. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and nodded. “I think it’d be alright, I answered the best I know how.”

“Then it will be alright. Anyway, let’s go, the atmosphere here is stifling.”

His blue orbs looked at the girls behind Sasuke and he winced, from their eyes he knew he’d be questioned about their relationship and the reason Sasuke was waiting for him. Dreading the near future, Naruto sighed.

“You alright? Was it that tough?”

Shaking his head, Naruto denied the other’s misunderstanding. “No, it’s not that. A-Anyway, what brought you here? You have the day off, right?”

“I wanted to wait for you, today’s your last exam, I wanted to be there when you get out.”

The sweet words made Naruto’s heart fly. He really wanted to kiss Sasuke right then and there, but they were in the middle of the university. Even if he had the balls to do it, he didn’t want to trouble Sasuke with unnecessary rumors flying.

Suddenly, his hand was pulled and he was led to a small alleyway between two buildings, before Naruto could question his boyfriend, Sasuke locked their lips together. The blond quickly surrounded into the kiss, just when it was becoming a little steamy, Sasuke broke free and smirked.

“Whoa…” Naruto drooled at him.

“You looked like you wanted a kiss.” He was answered his puzzled look as Sasuke used his handkerchief to wipe the drool from Naruto’s lips.

Blushing at his sexy boyfriend, Naruto said. “…Um… so, do you want to do something?”

Sasuke looked at his watch and raised a brow. “What are you talking about? We have a game to catch, there’s no time to waste.”

“Eh?”

Again that morning, Naruto was made to run without any clear explanation. As hard as he thought, he didn’t remember having a match that morning. But when they passed their field and went to Sasuke’s car, he thought his boyfriend might have been mistaken. However, half an hour later, they were entering a huge stadium. Naruto was guided alongside Sasuke to the VIP section, he sat down in a comfortable chair, and was given a sandwich in his right hand, while his left held a cool drink. The blond blinked and tilted his head, obviously confused.

“A game?”

Sasuke smiled and pointed to the screen, Naruto’s eyes shone, it was a game between his favorite team and a local one. Naruto’s memory flashed reminding him, it happened one evening, he was watching a match with Sasuke on TV, he spoke about how much he liked that team and wished to view a game live. The problem was that his favorite team rarely played in a stadium close to him, besides the tickets would always sell out before he had time to buy them. It was very hard to get a seat on their games. It was a trivial thing he said in a leisure moment. Yet here he was, sitting front seat and watching his team play live. Naruto’s emotions were overflowing; he couldn’t contain himself.

“Sasuke, you’re really something.”

The Uchiha smiled softly and kissed Naruto again on the cheek. “I’m glad you’re happy, now let’s enjoy the game.”

He returned the smile with a grin of his own and with that, they started watching the heated game.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Err… Sasuke, I noticed something… you really love physical contact.”

Black orbs looked at him, Naruto looked at their close proximity. Sasuke was lazing around in his room, even though the bed was empty, he was sitting on the ground, head on Naruto’s lap.

“Hmm… I think I am normal.”

The blond sweat dropped, he looked back at the first time when he met the Uchiha. Sasuke was always distant, didn’t like anyone touching him, there was one time when they were practicing and Naruto unintentionally touched his arm, the death glare he was given was still engraved in his memory. However, once they started dating, it felt like a switch was turned on. Sasuke was very touchy-feely. He’d hold Naruto’s hand when no one was looking, lean on him, hug him, sit on his lap or vice versa. Whatever it was, he made sure they were connected. The blond loved the change, it showed him Sasuke’s cute sides and he fell in love more.

“Maybe I’m thinking too much about it.”

Yawning, Sasuke agreed. “You are.”

The blond watched Sasuke rub his cheek against his thigh and smiled. Probably Sasuke wasn’t even aware that he was doing it, unconsciously, he always wanted to be close to Naruto. His tan hands ruffled the black locks and he asked.

“So what are your plans for the summer vacation?”

“Hmm… the summer tournament is coming up, so I think I’ll practice for it.”

“I meant aside from football?”

“The situation in the company has calmed down so I don’t need to help out there…hmmm,” Sasuke wrinkled his forehead thinking. “I guess there’s nothing I need to do, why? Do you have any plans?”

Excited, the blond nodded. “Yes, I want to go back to the football themed amusement park! You remember it? The last time we didn’t ride the rollercoaster.”  
“Ooh, yeah, I guess we can do that.”

“And we can’t forget the summer festival, the firework show and the beach! I want to go to all those places.”

Sasuke chuckled a little. “Naruto, your train of thoughts is like a kid.”

The blond puffed his cheeks, “I can’t help it, I never did any of those things before. It’s like my spring of love has finally come, I want to do everything.”  
“Your non-spring spring, huh?”

Before Naruto could reply to him the door to his room was knocked, then Iruka walked inside. He smiled at the intimate position the two males were in and spoke softly.

“Naruto, I’m going out with Kakashi, I made dinner so just heat it when you get hungry.”

Sasuke raised his head from Naruto’s lap out of courtesy to his father’s presence, the blond crossed his arms and frowned. It had been a week since Iruka came clean about the identity of whom he was seeing. Of course, Naruto acted as if the news was news to him, he didn’t want to stress Iruka so he behaved like he was okay with it. Even though his annoyed facial expression would sometimes betray him.

“Fine, just don’t be late.”

“No worries,” The burnet grinned, then he directed his eyes at Sasuke. “Say, Sasuke-kun, would you spend the night or…?”

“I don’t think so; I need to get home tonight.”

“Such a shame, Naruto’s always so happy when you do. Anyhow, take care, you two. If you need anything give me a call.”

The blond waved his guardian to leave, Iruka was still treating him like a kid, he resigned himself to it since it wasn’t about to change anytime soon. When the both of them were left alone, Naruto stood up.

“Well then, Sasuke, how about we have a match before dinner? Our score is 45-50, right? With me leading.”

The Uchiha stood as well and hit his boyfriend on the head. “Your head has gotten stupider, it’s I who is leading. You’re two hundred years too early to win against me.”

Their competitive nature took the better of them as Naruto’s eyes flared. “Then how about a little bet, Uchiha?”

“I don’t mind, as long as you don’t weasel out of it like last time.”

Naruto winced at those words, the last time he lost, Sasuke’s request was for him to dress in a maid outfit and walk with him in the shopping district. To put it simply, he couldn’t go through with it, walking one street was enough. He remembered how he begged Sasuke to allow him to treat him to something instead. After Naruto pleaded like crazy, the black eyed male accepted his pleas and agreed.

“D-Don’t worry, I don’t mind wearing anything right now!” He answered with nerves of steel. “Besides, you haven’t won yet!”

“Then place your stakes, what would you do when I won?” The proud tone was evident.

“What do you want me to do?” Naruto asked, ignoring Sasuke’s insinuations.

Sasuke thought hard about this then something flashed in his head. Yet before he could put his wager, he asked. “You go first; you were the one who suggested it.”

“Then, then…” Naruto felt his cheeks heat up a little as he muttered. “I want you to wear that maid uniform when… when we have sex next time.”

Sasuke felt the corner of his mouth twitch upwards, his boyfriend was as much of a pervert as he was. With zero ounce of embarrassment, he approved. “Fine, I have no objections, only if you’d agree to my request.”

When those black orbs he loved very much glowed sexily, the blond gulped. “W-What’s your request?”

“I want you to let me fuck you.”

Naruto’s heart dropped.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------

The stakes have never been higher, Naruto realized this as he maneuvered away from Sasuke’s persisting attacks. They set the time for an hour, whoever scores the most wins. The pace of the game was as easygoing as always, but Naruto felt he was under immense pressure. Parading through town in a maid outfit was nothing compared to his ass being fucked. He was living a mayhem on the inside, logically speaking, Sasuke had every right to ask him to bottom, after all he was a male and was meant to penetrate. If Naruto wanted to be fair, he would give his ass on a silver platter, but… he just couldn’t accept it. Call it stupid male pride or his alpha hormones kicking in, he just couldn’t surrender his hole to Sasuke.

By the time he came to it, Sasuke was scoring one goal after the other. His brain was overheating with stress that he couldn’t concentrate on playing. The black haired male frowned and called their match to a halt, he held the ball in his hands and walked towards his boyfriend. With a knifehand strike, he hit Naruto softy on the head.

“Yo, idiot, what are you doing?”

Jittering like a fish out of water, Naruto spoke. “S-Sorry, Sasuke, I don’t know what’s wrong. For some reason, I can’t stop stressing.”

Sasuke sighed. “Is the idea of being fucked so unacceptable to you?”

“I… it’s not that, I just… I know I’m acting scared and stuff, so unmanly… but it’s a little chilling.”

The Uchiha rolled his eyes at the cowardly part of Naruto’s personality. His boyfriend wasn’t perfect, there were times where he’d get scared and stress over unimportant things, Sasuke learnt to love all those parts and relax them when needed. He started bouncing the ball on his head before saying.

“I don’t know why you’re stressing; this will only happen if I win. If I lose, your hole would be safe.”

Naruto clutched his head and crunched on the ground, face drained of all color. “I know this, but the pressure of losing is unbearable.”

“Then how about this, if you lose, we won’t have sex right away, I will make you get used to it slowly. It won’t hurt, I promise, you will enjoy it.”

Naruto felt the uneasiness in him start to thaw a little. He looked with puppy-dog eyes at his boyfriend, then asked. “You… you promise?”

“Yes,” A genuine smile was given to him. “Have I ever broken a promise with you?”

The blond shook his head. “You haven’t!”

“Then trust me and focus on the game. There’s still half an hour left and I’m leading three to zero, you need to work hard to get those goals back.”

Sasuke was encouraging him softly, even though if he left him like this, he’d end up winning. But Naruto understood, it won’t be any good to Sasuke winning like that. He loved their little matches because there was competition and sense of urgency. If it was a sure-win game, then Sasuke would lose interest in it. That’s why he was annoyed with Naruto’s lack of participation. Having finally awoken from his inner stress, Naruto slapped his whiskered cheeks and said.  
“Okay, bring it on! I’m all fired up now!”

Sasuke threw the ball on the ground and in a second position his feet to shoot it, Naruto’s eyes widened in surprise as a goal was scored in his net.  
“Sasuke! No fair! That goal doesn’t count!”

“Yes, it does, the game has already begun, don’t be a sore loser, Uzumaki~” Smirking, the black haired male commented.

The blond swore he saw a pointy tail and two horns poke out of Sasuke’s head, there was a little devil trapped inside his boyfriend. Gritting his teeth, he decided to play with all his might and get those four goals back. Half an hour later, Naruto was sitting by the big field in a daze, he looked at the evening sky and felt like he wanted to become one with the flying birds.

A pale hand was placed on his shoulder as Sasuke grinned down at him. “Naruto-kun, yoroshiku~”

Yeah, how nice would it be to fly with those free birds and escape reality.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sakura munched on her chips alongside her two other friends. She was out right now with Ino, Hinata and they asked Naruto as well. It was a simple outing of movies and dinner. Yet she noticed that throughout their meet, Naruto looked lifeless. So far, she didn’t want to pry and invade his privacy, but when her other two female friends excused themselves to the bathroom, she couldn’t stop her curiosity anymore.

“Naruto!” She hit his moping head and stressed. “What’s wrong? Why do you look like life has been drained from your body?”

A motionless Naruto looked at her, he smiled sheepishly. “Nothing’s wrong, Sakura-chan, I was just practicing a lot these days… it’s been hard.”

Inside Naruto’s head, he wasn’t lying. He was indeed practicing, since Sasuke won their little bet that day, he was being stretched every chance the two had. Naruto was super restless about the whole thing, but he decided to take it like a man, if Sasuke could do it, so could he! However, after cleaning up the first time, and seeing how draining the process was, he decided that he wasn’t man enough for it. Naruto had a new respect for his boyfriend, bottoming wasn’t something he might enjoy. Even so, Sasuke didn’t allow him room to escape. As a matter of a fact, every time Naruto would try to run away, Sasuke would enjoy tormenting him more.

It reached to a point where Naruto really thought that maybe it wasn’t that he made Sasuke fall for him, but he fell in the other’s trap.

A loud sigh escaped his lips, Sakura sweat-dropped at him. “That doesn’t sound like simple practice.”

Before he could reply, the two other girls returned, sparing him further integration from Sakura. His senpai had a level head on her shoulders, so he knew if he said anything, she’d pick up on everything soon.

“Naruto-kun, Sakura-chan, you can go to the bathroom now. We will hold the table.” The sweet tone of Hyuuga Hinata reached his ears.

Naruto realized how much he liked to listen to her voice, Hinata was the little angel that gave him silent comfort. He was sure, if Sasuke wasn’t there, he’d end up loving her.

“I think I will pass, let’s just order for now.” Sakura answered her.

Suddenly, his phone rang, the ID of ‘Chicken Butt’ flashed alongside a stupid picture of Sasuke – his middle finger was raised, his tongue was out, and was telling Naruto to ‘fuck off’. Naruto quickly picked up and started talking, two minutes later, he hung up and looked at the trio.

“Umm… my friend is coming here, is it okay? He kinda didn’t give me time to refuse.”

A tender smile showed on Hinata’s features as she nodded. “It’s fine, Naruto-kun, he’s welcome.”

Ino seconded Hinata. “Yeah, I don’t mind.”

“The more the merrier, Naruto.” Sakura offered her consent.

The blond nodded with a soft smile of his own. “Thank you, all.”

“So who’s coming?” Ino said as she told the waitress that came that they needed more time to order.

“Oh, it’s Sasuke.” Naruto answered causally.

Suddenly Sakura and Ino’s eyes brightened and hearts flooded the table, the blond sweat-dropped, he has forgotten the major crush his friends had on his boyfriend.

“Oh My God, Naruto! You can’t just drop this bomb on us like this!” Ino shouted.

“Inu-buta, hold my seat, I’m going to fix my make-up!” Sakura sprung out of her seat.

“Sakura, you big forehead! You think I will allow you to look pretty alone, wait, I’m coming too!”

“What the hell are you taking about? You just fixed your make-up!” The pink haired girl shouted, running down the stairs.

Ino followed keenly behind her. “That doesn’t count! This is Sasuke-kun we are talking about! I need to look GORGEOUS!”

In a second, the two girls disappeared from the two’s viewfinders, arguing their way to the bathroom. The blond blinked and Hinata snickered sheepishly.  
“Sasuke-kun is really popular.” With a fond tone, she commented.

“You wouldn’t say.”

“But it’s pointless.”

Naruto frowned at her words. “Why would you say that?”

The pure lilac orbs got a little bit darker, alongside her tone. “Because he’s dating you, Naruto-kun.”

At that moment, Naruto felt his universe stop. His body went cold and his throat dried out. The blond didn’t know why, but he never thought he would be found out so soon, nonetheless by Hinata. Calming his blazing nerves, he took a deep breath and with unsettling eyes, he enquired.

“How… How did you find out?”

Hinata smiled at him and questioned. “You’re not going to deny it?”

“There’s no reason for me to.”

The girl next to him clapped her hands. “Very admirable, Naruto-kun, I would have been disappointed if you did. But don’t worry, you didn’t mess up or anything, it’s just… I’m very observant to the people I like.”

Her words left a bitter taste in his mouth, “People you like?”

Hinata maintained her smile and didn’t elaborate. She called the waitress that was responsible for their table and ordered a juice for him, telling the blond to drink since he seemed parched. Naruto decided not to question her any further since she didn’t want to answer, and took the offered juice. The atmosphere later on was a little bit dark. Soon, Sakura and Ino came back and not half an hour later, Sasuke was sitting with them.

The five individuals spent a nice night together, Naruto tried to stifle his nervousness and act normal. He was able to breathe when the night came to an end, but before his worries could evaporate, Hinata asked him to talk on the side. Sasuke watched with keen eyes as his boyfriend’s face changed from utter fear to a bright grin in seconds. They came back and Hinata waved bye to the two boys as she left with her friends. Naruto waved back with a somewhat relieved heart, when Sasuke was sure they were alone, he questioned.

“You haven’t been yourself throughout dinner, are you that displeased that I came over?”

Naruto looked at the man standing beside him and he sighed. Shaking his head, he started walking towards Sasuke’s car. “No, it’s not that, actually the reason is something else.”

“What?”

“Hinata-chan, she found out about us.”

There was no change in Sasuke’s poker face as he opened his car. “…Oh.”

Naruto raised a brow at the disinterested reaction. “Is that all you’re going to say? ‘Oh’?”

“Well, it was only a matter of time before it happens; we weren’t really hiding it. Besides,”

“Besides?”

Sasuke’s eyes darkened a little. “I knew she’d find out; we’ve had the same taste since we were kids.”

By now, they were inside the car and Sasuke was driving them back. Naruto felt his emotions mix between being happy that Sasuke admitted he liked him and surprised that Hinata’s words turned out to be true. He released a sigh as he covered his eyes.

“So she does like me after all…”

“Why do you think I came flying when you said you’re out together?”

Naruto rolled his eyes at his boyfriend. “Sasuke, do you not trust me?”

“I think we have already answered that question,” Black orbs pored holes in his head. “And I know Hinata, she might not have said anything but, knowing that you’re dating me probably isn’t sitting well with her.”

The blond scowled at the accusations. “What’s that supposed to me? I don’t like your implications, Sasuke, Hinata-chan is a nice girl, just so you know, the last thing she said to me tonight was that she’s happy for me, and she’s cheering us on.”

“Naruto, she only said those things to remain a good friend in your eyes, the minute she senses there are cracks in our relationship, she’d attack.”  
“Stop the car!” Unexpectedly, the blond exclaimed.

Sasuke was jolted form driving at Naruto’s sudden words. “What?”

“You heard me, I won’t sit in a place where Hinata-chan is being badmouthed!”

The Uchiha rubbed his head, how could he explain to Naruto that he wasn’t badmouthing her. Simply, he was telling him about Hinata’s dark side. She was a Hyuuga after all and Neji’s cousin, how could Naruto not see it? Sasuke was always around those two so he was accustomed to them. They were good people, but when they wanted something, they’d go to great length to obtain it. Sasuke knew Hinata’s personality well because it was similar to his. The reason she kept quiet and encouraged Naruto on was to save a place in his heart as the perfect female. She wanted to be Naruto’s ideal woman, why couldn’t the idiot see that?

Thinking that it would be better not to touch on the Hinata subject, Sasuke caved. “Alright, I’m sorry, I won’t badmouth her anymore. She’s your friend and you have the right to be angry. Can we make up now?”

The blond nodded, his anger evaporating just like that. “As long as you understand. Besides, Sasuke, even if what you’re thinking is true, I don’t have any feelings for her… so if she did try to confess, my heart is full.”

Sasuke gave him a tender smile, actually he really did trust Naruto and deep down he knew he was overreacting and getting jealous over petty things, but it just showed how much Naruto meant to him. If he were to be snatched by anyone, Sasuke didn’t think he’d be able to handle it. Hyuuga Hinata was a reasonable person, she liked Naruto but didn’t try anything to get him; that should tell him something. Maybe she really was glad for him, Sasuke sighed and squeezed Naruto’s tan hand.

“Yeah, I believe you, but promise me something, Naruto, if one day you think you want to break up with me, do it after I get sick of you.”

Naruto grinned and squeezed back. “Uchiha, there’s no way you’re getting sick of me anytime soon. So breaking up is out of the question.”

“That’s true.”

Before the moment went away, Naruto’s eyes brightened and he pulled something from his pocket. Sasuke’s attention was back to the road so he didn’t notice his boyfriend’s actions. Yet suddenly, he heard a clicking sound and looked to see Naruto holding his cell phone up. Black orbs momentarily went to the strap that was attached to his cell phone, a red pearl extended on its end. His eyes widened and confusion filled them.

“I had a professional fix it. Actually, the reason I went out with them tonight was because I wanted to fix it. Sakura-senpai knew this great shop, they could fix any broken gem. Apparently mending it wasn’t that hard,” Naruto explained quickly. “I know you said you don’t want it and to throw it away, but, Sasuke, I couldn’t do that! This little strap holds a precious memory to you. Your brother is someone important in your heart, you have cherished his gift for a long time, so I don’t think it’s alright to discard it in a moment of anger.”

Abruptly, Sasuke pulled on the side of the road and pressed the hazard button. Naruto was ready for the lash out, but it never came. Gently, Sasuke retrieved his phone from his boyfriend’s hands and inspected the pearl. Indeed, it was back to how it was. The cracks were still there but the surface was smooth, giving the illumination that the cracks were made within the pearl. A small smile spread on Sasuke’s face.

Their eyes met and only one phrase was said.

“Thank you, Naruto.”

Naruto grinned at his boyfriend and replied. “You’re welcome~”

Before resuming his drive, the black haired male leaned and captured Naruto’s lips in an intimate kiss. He tried to convey all the feelings in his heart with it. Naruto was always bringing him bits and pieces of happiness, he wished for their relationship to continue and to stay connected to Naruto forever. Closing his eyes, Sasuke made a little prayer to the heavens and he hoped it would be accepted.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
So what do you think of the story? I enjoyed writing it very much! It was so cute and lovely~ <3 I love Hinata so I didn’t want to tarnish her in the end lol, even though Sasuke was very jealous of her. Well then, to meet you in a new story, farewell. Don’t forget to comment~  
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